


Because even the Finder Series needs a Time Travel Fic

by Inquisitive_6 (Setsuna_5)



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: Light crime thriller, M/M, Mystery, Romance, Slow Burn, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-08-27 12:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8402278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Setsuna_5/pseuds/Inquisitive_6
Summary: The numbness spread through Akihito's body as he fell down from the rooftop of their apartment. The bullet wounds didn't hurt anymore. All he could see in his rapidly darkening vision was Asami and his anguished voice calling out to him. Beside him was Kirishima san looking down at him with such sad eyes. 
The assassins retreated as soon as more reinforcements came once it was clear that Asami was not in any immediate danger. However, they managed to have to have the last laugh after all. Emptying a barrel of bullets into Akihito and his battered body falling down as he slipped.
Shit!...Asa..mi in the end all I gave him was pain...I was so useless...pathetic...Only if I could do it all over again...I don't want to see him in so much pain...I wanted to...Asami...
Those were his last thoughts as a meteor shower started in the night sky, barely visible through the city lights. He knew nothing more before his body even hit the ground and his heart ceased to beat.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I seem to have developed tendencies to write time travel fics. My first ever Finder fanfic. I was so obsessed with this series, studying the most minute reactions of both the main characters. Well, so heres my fic I am finally posting it after ruminating writing such a fic for months. So yeah without further delay here you go...
> 
> Enjoy~

Akihito groaned as his whole body throbbed with a dull ache as though he was sore all over.

 

_Am I dead already?...wait...Asami!_

 

He sat up with a start and saw an worried looking old lady looking at him. She looked very familiar somehow...She was wearing a plum colored solid yukata.

 

“Are you feeling alright Shiraha sama?”

 

Akihito smiled in nostalgia...it had been so long since anyone called him that. The last time was...

 

_What the hell is going on in here?_

 

With wide eyes he looked around him. What the hell was he doing in his childhood home. Was this some kind of punishment dealt out in afterlife?

 

“K-kaede san (?)...W-what happened?”

 

“You fainted during your evening walk by the Arashiyama...we were all so worried Shiraha sama. Anata called your grand father. He was worried as well. Thank Kami you are fine now.”

 

He retured Kaede's smile, falling back on his long forgotten habits. Looking down at his hands he noticed they were...somewhat smaller than before...okay a hell lot smaller than before...lacked calluses too. His eyes narrowed as he noticed black hair falling infront of his face. He picked up a chin length lock between his finger and peered at each hair as they glinted a deep rich colour of red tea in the sunlight. With a sigh he got up shakily and stood in front of the mirror in the corner of the room.

 

The image of his ten year old self greeted him and he fainted for the second time that day.

 

When he regained his consciousness he could hear hushed conversation going on around him. Letting out a small groan he asked, “Is this afterlife?”

 

When a rich sound of laughter filled the air, he opened his eyes and saw a face he had been missing for so long.

 

“Grandfather!!” He lunged at his grandfather and let out a sigh as he was held in a protective embrace by the only person he ever felt close to when he was a child.

 

“Shiraha...”

 

His grandfather called him softly and he unused to being called so pouted cutely.

 

“Mou! Oji sama, why do you call me Shiraha? My name is Kazuhiko is it not?”

 

He tilted his head to his left slightly as he trained his curious gaze to his grandfathers' (who mentally cooed at the adorableness of his cherished grandson). With a sigh his grandfather gestured to be left alone and so Kaede san retreated with a bow.

 

“Listen carefully Shiraha...Do you know what your name means? Kazuhiko is a prestigious name befitting of someone belonging to the main branch of the Yamada family. But it is as pretentious as its grandiose meaning. I had a dream once...I was walking alone by the bamboo groves to the family shrine and I got lost in the dark. Then I saw a little boy with a lantern offering me his hand. He led me through the dark so fearlessly with a radiant smile on his face. It lit up everything around him. I don't remember how he looked or what he was wearing but...as I entered the torii and let go of his hand he burst into white feathers and then drifted away in the wind.”

 

Akihito listened to his grandfather with rapt attention, his past...er...future forgotten at the moment. These moments with his grandfather were very precious to him.

 

“Do you remember when we first met Shiraha?”

 

“Uh huh..on the day kaa san passed away...I was three and we met by the Arashiyama when Kaede san took me for an evening stroll.”

 

His grandfather smiled down at him as he gently held both of his tiny hands with his large ones.

 

“That maybe so but your father brought you and your mother when you were one into this tea house. Your smile reminded me of that surreal dream. You were Shiraha to me the moment you smiled at me Kazuhiko. It brightened up everything around you. And it made me attached to you at first and as I spent more and more time with you especially after your mother passed away, I came to love you as my own. Remember to smile from the bottom of your heart Shiraha. Even in the darkest times smile to spread your light my child.”

 

Akihito scrunched up his face at the complicated words of his grandfather. At the least Asami did not use such words when they conversed...he forcefully shoved those thoughts at the back of his mind for the time being.

 

After talking some more over dinner, his grandfather went away and he retreated to his rooms. Truly alone for the first time since he woke up, he sat down tiredly on the futon which was spread out for him. He let out anguished tears as he mourned for the mistakes he did in his past life. For abandoning his grandfather, for betraying his family when he knew that his father was the one responsible, for running away from all of it, for being a burden to Asami...

 

Akihito woke up with a headache and blocked nose the next day. Dawn was just breaking over the horizon. He strangely felt tired, empty and old. Laughing at the irony, he headed towards the gardens. As he looked over the sun rising from the golden fluffy clouds and lighting up the sky a deep sense of determination filled him. He looked at his open palms, the unmarred and nimble fingers and closed them into tight fists.

 

“I won't run away this time. This time I will chose anything but running away. Wait for me Grandfather, Asami. I will make both of you proud.”

 

 


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito from age 10 to 14. I figured Akihito needed a solid well, more tangible background so first few chapters will be about Akihito and his family. And he might meet Asami sooner or later than in the manga depending on how I decide to weave my plot.  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> While the previous chapter focused on his closeness with his grandfather, this chapter sheds light on  
> -Akihito growing up  
> -His place in the family  
> -More on the Yamada clan  
> -A little on how he came to be the Akihito we know in the manga  
> -Akihito's interpretations about his relationship with Asami  
> -The strangely close relationship between him and his uncle  
> -Akihito trying his best to change the timeline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go chapter 1 Minna san!! ^^~~  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> I wanted to write more but yeah...I stopped halfway...  
> Pray for me >.

So much for waiting. Akihito soon got tired of being a tiny ten year old. He purposely threw tantrums and complained about the teachers. Said everything was too boring and easy. The only thing he did not complain was about his diet and physical training. Pretty surprising for a ten year old which his grandfather noticed all too soon. Which is why he found himself sitting alone in a room in front of his grandfather who was eye-ing him and making him feel as though he was going to be punished.

 

“Kazu what is this I am hearing from your caretakers and teachers?”

 

His grandfather never called him Kazu or anything else other than Shiraha. He must be pissed off Akihito thought. Gulping nervously he looked up at his grandfather who sighed resignedly. It seems he can never stay angry at his grandson.

 

“Eto...you see...”

 

“Speak up Kazuhiko. Don't mumble and straighten your Seiza...Now. Speak freely.”

 

He sat up straighter at his grandfather's firm tone and took a deeper breath.

 

“I know that you have been trying your level best to give me a proper childhood despite keeping me in this old teahouse like some princess up in a tower. My father is none too fond of me and makes me wish you were my father instead and I never thanked you for that. Thanks for all of it by the way.”

 

“Now now Shiraha...I must say you have inherited the Yamada talent of having a way with words but I want you to tell me why you are behaving the way you were these past few months.”

 

“Most of the teachers are absolutely..er...garbage. Calligraphy is fine I mean I find it challenging and I figured it will take me lots of practice to become somewhat decent at it with a brush. But I can write my alphabets with a pen without any difficulty. Sensei accused me off lying when I told him I have memorized my alphabets in a week and refused to teach me anything new and I had to study something I am confident I know for three more weeks unnecessarily.”

 

He couldn't help but pout as he sulked while his grandfather looked at him with an expression akin to curiosity and amusement.

 

“Do carry on.”

 

“Hmph...Physical training is fine...slow going but I will endure if it means I get to be as strong as Ojii sama when I grow up. Also, When I asked questions about metallic and non metallic properties of metalloids...He just ignored me! He even punished me because I refused to do his assignments and memorized the periodic tables instead...I was bored!” He whined petulantly.

 

And cue his teacher being promptly fired. And then after two days break, he was asked to sit for different types of tests and evaluations by his grandfather who sent his Secretary in his stead. And after a week of exhausting evaluations, he was being tutored by a new teacher, who was more amicable and more accepting, in high school level lessons.

 

Apparently, his evaluation deemed him a sort of natural prodigy or genius when he offered answers about his intellect by nonchalantly saying that he raided the library when ever he was bored as though it was not a big deal. Its a different thing altogether though that he took everything in stride with a innocent and clueless face all the while firmly reigning in the urge to cackle madly in delight. This had to be the greatest prank he has ever played. Sadly, there was no one to whom he could enjoy regaling his achievements.

 

Some nights though his caretakers found him sitting by the trees and staring at the pond with a immersed expression in the late hours. Those were the nights he missed Asami and contemplated about life in general. His urge for experiencing adrenaline never went away and so he satisfied his tiny body by climbing up trees and taking pleasure in how fast or higher he could go and sometimes forewent climbing down all the way and simply jumped down from the lowest branch.

 

His biggest nightmare or rather the source of stress was though, the house itself. It was a medium sized tea house near the shrine that was on the hilltop. The river running by the hill was nearby as well. Before moving to the main house in central Kyoto, this house used to be the main house of the clan head. While the house had a library filled with books on most intriguing things, half of it was abandoned though it was being maintained. It was suffocating sometimes. The graveyard further from the shrine seemed like a good hangout but he did not want to creep out anyone by asking to be taken there just to 'hang out'.

 

Last time he ran away when their whole estate went up in flames. That was the day when he lost his grandfather due to his heartless father. The Yamada Massacre had been the incident soon after which he abandoned his family name and cut off all ties with them. It did not help that he knew that his father had been at fault. This time though he has sworn to prevent it and his resolve renews whenever he dreams of that night.

 

oooOooo~Line Break~oooOooo

 

Yamada family was one of the oldest families thriving since the days of the emperor as the top in the food chain among the merchant class families. They had a reputation not unlike the top nobles and were treated as such as well. After the capital was shifted to Tokyo, they remained in Kyoto and rebuilt their empire from there. Their rice fields and breweries were well known in Japan and also had connections to influential people from all kinds of places.

 

While main business was exquisite sake and production of high quality and genetically engineered rice, on the sidelines they also owned some of the main pleasure houses in the redlight cities ( A/N: - he meant 'redlight districts' ) in many places which were managed by branch families under his grandfather. While the so called main branch was in Kyoto, the majority of their factories were in Okinawa. They still used the ancient methods of sake brewing and kept their traditions alive.

 

 

His grandfather saw to all the affairs where paperwork and negotiations or contracts were concerned while his eldest son, Akihito's Uncle managed everything in Okinawa. In his last coming of age ceremony, his grandfather had announced Akihito as his heir much to his Uncle's happiness and father's disappointment and burning anger. Exactly a year after that he was forced to strike a deal with his father after he walked in on his fathers grand scheme of plans.

 

 

It was either die or disappear. He was forcefully shipped to Tokyo with a new persona. Two days later he saw on the news the reports of his grandfather's death. He had been assassinated and they were also attacked by one of the most powerful yakuza groups around and hence the Yamada empire in Tokyo went up in flames. He was not foolish. Being an ancient top merchant class family had a few perks. Excellent negotiation skills and perfect business sense and inbuilt intuition were only to name a few.

After all, Akihito himself used those little perks of his in his day to day life. Its not everyday someone could rattle off features of latest camera models or old ones for that matter or forwent taking notes when he hunted around for stories with just his trusty camera. His excellent memory also had him privy to knowledge of various kinds of sakes and their quality and where they can be enjoyed the cheapest. And lets forget the fact that he was a lightweight whose hobby was parkour and solving ciphers.

 

He suspected his father had been deeply involved with the Yakuza. He was most probably in a very high post too for having his father assassinated so cleanly while throwing most of his clan's empire to smithereens.It was a grudge on his father's part that much Akihito knew. After all he grew up bearing the burden of his father's hate and ire for apparently being the one responsible for his mother's death and later on for being favored by his grandfather over him. However, Yamada empire had the most potential of becoming on of the largest information network if the Yakuza got their hands on it. The Yakuza had taken over the pleasure houses and all that remained of the Yamada empire was all that was in Okinawa under his uncle. Uncle whose head was threatened if Akihito ever dared to return or try to take back the Yamada name.

 

oooOooo~Line Break~oooOooo

 

By the time Akihito hit twelve, he had an entire wing to himself. After receiving permission to order things like books and other things online, Akihito splurged vehemently. He got one of the smaller wings converted to suit his needs.

 

While his own room was simple with a low desk and hanging scrolls and a wardrobe, the room towards his right was filled with shelves overstuffed with books on topics from basic maths to 'psychology for dummies'. It also held a small niche where his calligraphy equipments were neatly arranged. The sturdy mahogany low table was as large as a six seater dining table which groan under the weight of books about Russian and Chinese language dictionaries and other 'how to' s.

 

He refused to hide his academic knowledge from previous life. He was a general studies student with a certified diplomas of journalism and photography. While he was a top grade student with delinquent tendencies in his school days, he breezed through his college days with mediocre marks all the while juggling photography workshops and parkour at the side. And if he still remembered most of the stuff then hell yes was he using those resources. He wanted to be someone who could be trusted by Asami to protect his back.

 

The last time the chase ended all to soon. He was like a possession to Asami and pretty sure just cause he protested and pestered, was he offered what bits of freedom he had. It was probably lust at first sight and adrenaline of the chase coupled with possessiveness on Asami's side. But it had been a journey full of adrenaline, struggles as well as rough addicting sex, with slight touches of moments when he got to see the true Asami behind his numerous masks and stoic face. He was pretty sure at the end of it he was in love with the Yakuza bastard. Maybe just maybe the Yakuza bastard would have been falling for him too albeit slower than he would have liked.

 

The room to his left was his personal heaven. Its floor lay littered with computer hardware parts tool boxes and notes on various computer programs. Two of the corners were occupied with tall lamps with red shades. A sparkly clean display case filled with camera parts displayed like precious gems stood beside the standard table on which lay a laptop with a printer. The empty wall space was littered with sticky notes.The wooden posts were dotted with nailed hooks. And the lines tied to those held developing pictures of random things. The shoji screens were black and the only window was removed.

 

The only room via which his rooms could be accessed was made into a simple sitting room with a small alter on one corner and a small bookshelf on another. He took his lessons here and the door which led to his wing was installed with secure locks to prevent access to unwanted visitors or guests like his father. He also had a spare room, which was actually his old room. He stayed there when they had guests over and the entire wing was sealed off temporarily.

 

oooOooo~Line Break~oooOooo

 

This time his coming of age was decided to be celebrated a year earlier.

( A/N: - Standard coming of age is celebrated sometime during second week of January every year. It is for twenty year olds. This ceremony mentioned here is just something I made up. A clan thing basically.)

And by his request, his grandfather was to stay over in the house for atleast a week. So on the morning of three days before his fourteenth birthday, he was helping out Kaede san to clean the hardly used other half of the old house and set up rooms for his grandfather, Uncle and his family of his wife and five years old son, his teachers and three or four of both his grandfather's and uncle's guests. While the last time it was also the event where his existence was revealed to the whole of the clan privately, this time as per his wishes, his existence will not be revealed until he is eighteen.

 

Now he had approximately two days to convince grandfather to not announce him as his heir. Acting purely on his instincts, he entered his uncle's temporary room that very evening. After all his uncle always visited him whenever he was in Kyoto and was third in his list of most trusted individuals. He never did anything behind his back or lied to him. He would rather refuse to answer than lie or divert his queries. While his uncle almost never shared his own problems with Akihito, they told secrets to each other which they would rather not tell anyone at all.

 

The rest of the family was enjoying an evening out in the gardens around a small campfire and his grandfather was due to arrive later at night.His father had declined the invitations. Toweling his longish hair with one hand, his uncle was snarling at someone on the phone angrily.

 

“I do not care of such frivolities. I refuse to initiate any negotiations at all if I do not receive a thorough reports of him on my desk by the end of this week. -”

 

Akihito lowered his gaze and focused on his uncle's barefeet as he cleared his throat loudly and hid his mirthful gaze when his uncle startled at the noise. With a quiet 'thats all' he hung up his phone and approached him.

 

“What brings you here on this fine evening?”

“I had some concerns and you were the only one I could've-”

 

He was interrupted by his uncle who sneezed very loudly and sniffed noisily. And Akihito eyed his dripping hair, bare feet and open chested grey yukata.

 

“Maa maa I seem to catching something.”

 

“You need to take better care of yourself uncle. I cannot have you catching a cold like an idiot. God forbid everyone is taking cold remedies at the end of the week.”

He scolded his uncle in a waspish tone.

 

“Wha-? How can you be so cruel my dear nephew!”

His uncle wispered in a mock devastated tone while his face was alight with a playful grin.

 

“Whatever.”

Akihito muttered and walked towards his uncle soundlessly and manhandled him into sitting on the tool infront of the mirror.

 

“Tch!Give me that!”

He snapped and snatched the towel. After rummaging through the closet he pulled out a dark blue yukata ( A/N: - Casual Kimono like robe) and handed it over.

 

“Change into that Uncle.”

He ordered like a spoiled brat and ignored his uncle who was now openly gawking at his nephew.

 

“Well?”

His uncle broke out of his stupor and lazily made his way to change behind the screens. And Akihito made his way to the hallway to make sure no one is around and then stood on the otherside of the screen.

 

“My my I never knew uncle was so shy. Now now, please no need to splutter so unbecomingly.”

He teased with a airy voice. Staring towards the shoji screens he started in a low and serious voice.

 

“Say Ahoji, Okinawa (A/N: - Land/factories in Okinawa) sits on your Shoulders does it not?”

 

“Mmmhmm.”

 

“And then what about the Red houses? (A/N: - Pleasure houses in Red light districts)”

 

“Mrhhmm...why all the questions nephew?”

 

“Just curious...”

 

“I see...does it have anything to do with what you wanted to-”

 

“Khmm...walls have ears Uncle...for now just answer my questions...”

 

“Heh~...So Father was correct about holding ceremony a year earlier.”

 

“Answer my question Ahoji, we are straying from the topic.”

 

“Was there a topic in the first place.”

Saying so his uncle walked out lazily and slumped down on the bed. With an annoyed glare in his direction, Akihito pulled out a towel, ignoring the other towels and yukatas that fell down and went towards his uncle. He snorted derisively at the fallen clothes.

 

“Tch! Sit down properly! I will do your hair.”

 

“Maa maa...don't hit me Chibiraha..ittae..”

Letting out a sigh, he climbed up the bed stood on his knees infront of his uncle and tugged at his elbow length hair firmly. When his uncle bowed his head, he started to wipe with firm and measured motions while his uncle hummed appreciatively.

 

“Yamada...yamada...pretty big clan ain't they? Shhh...let me talk now ahoji don't interrupt.”

Akihito started to speak in hushed tones and immediately noticed his uncle stiffening. Good. It meant he was atleast being listened to attentively. And slowed his hands to softly massage the scalp from over the towel covering the head.

 

“I might be stepping out of my bounds but I cannot bring myself to voice out these thoughts to anyone else. Well, Jii sama is there but...its about him actually...See...you deal with Okinawa...and I suppose Jii san has minions to take care of the red areas but Jii sama...he calls all the shots doesn't he. Now imagine what if Father gets his paw- er- gets handed the red areas. He will have some power and freedom to manage it however he wants just like you do in Okinawa.”

 

With a swift motion, Akihito's uncle pulled his head back from those pleasuring hands and removed the towel. He eyed his nephew with a cold stare and glare at him angrily.

 

“What are you saying? Are you trying to set me up against my own brother?!!How dare-”

 

“Shut up! YOU! Khm sorry, we shouldn't be talking so loudly. You don't understand.”

 

“I am listening.”

With a sigh, Akihito straddled his uncle and settled down on his lap. He combed his fingers through the tangles absentmindedly as his eyes glazed over as though he was very far away. His uncle eyed him in silent anger as his eyes gave away his curiosity. Akihito resumed his musings with a quieter voice.

 

“I think father is involved with the...I will be going all out from here...excuse my crudeness or whatever crap I start spewing. Father is acting very suspiciously. I think he is involved with the Yakuza. Now, Yamada's are one hell of an asset. If they get their hands on even a portion of our lands just imagine what they could do.”

His uncle was no longer angry. Infact he had a contemplative look on his face. Akihito got up and went to fetch the comb with nimble steps all the while continuing his monologue.

 

“Red light areas would become info nets, factory warehouses could become smuggling goods storage, hell if they get the throne, our entire clan would fall into their hands.”

Akihito settled on his knees between his uncle's stretched out legs and started to comb a lock of his hair.

 

“Now lets go on a limb here and assume father is not involved with the Yakuza. Still no one knows what he is doing half of the time. He is not the youngest nor the black sheep of the family. So, no one is keeping an eye on him. You and Jii san are always in the spotlight and the youngest is always being looked after by servants, minions and what not. If suppose any Mafia wanted in, I say father would be the best channel.”

Masanori closed his eyes and hummed under his breath thoughtfully.

 

“Also, just think what will be father's reaction if grandfather did not consider my wishes and announced me heir two days from now. You think father would like that?”

 

“Tashkani, if you think that way it makes a lot of sense, demo...Are you sure you are only fourteen or are you reading too many mystery novels now hmm?”

 

“Aho oji sama! I am trying to make a point here and trying to per...er..persuade!..you to do something for me so atleast don't interrupt if you don't have anything serious to say. And by the way I find myself partial to crime thrillers. Ahem now...I think in the coming years, both yours and grandfathers lives might be in danger.”

He dropped the comb and hugged his uncle. And mumbled into his hair.

 

“I have nightmares about it sometimes and they feel so real. It doesn't help the fact that sometimes black cars with missing number plates dropped off father when he came for mother's anniversary and Bon-Odori last time. I feel s-so scared even now when I am thinking about it.”

 

He pulled away and sniffed sadly and brushed away a few stray tears. Pulling out his own hair tie and holding it with his teeth, he tried to gather his uncle's hair with shaking hands. Masanori looked down at his nephew fondly. Apparently chibi was going through quiet an inner turmoil all these times and no one was there for him. He gently pushed away those hands that were trying to gather his hair and gently cupped Akihito's face with both hands and peered into his eyes which were looking else where. He gently brushed away those tea colored locks of hair falling infront of his face and wiped away the tears with his thumbs.

 

“If you keep crying like that, I might have to keep calling you Chibisuke after all.”

 

Akihito glared at his uncle with teary eyes while ignoring his lips that were still trembling slightly. He closed his eyes when he felt his uncle pressing a kiss to his forehead and fingers prying off the hair tie from in between his teeth. When he did not lift up his head, he felt his uncle holding his chin to lift his head up and a thumb brushed lovingly across his parted lips. He looked at his uncle with wide eyes and unconsciously sagged in relief when he saw that his uncle understood to some extent. All the while not noticing his uncle freezing up as he came aware of their proximity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some explanations...
> 
> -Time line will skip a lot till Akihito meets Asami. So yeah Asami might make brief appearances but after proper meeting ( most likely Ch 5 ), timeline will follow the same same pace as that of the manga. 
> 
> -Until then, the plot line will be shedding light on Akihito's relationship with his family because after Asami enters, the lime line shifts to Asami and Akihito mostly. 
> 
> -Also, it will be in these moments I will be shedding light on familial bonds. Afterwards these characters might make brief appearances but it will be mostly Asahito interactions.
> 
> -As for me using Japanese terms inbetween...well I am only doing it in direct speech statements because well, the diction of the characters changes depending on certain situations...like Ahoji- when Aki is being playful or trying to lighten the atmosphere or..Jii sama- when Aki is being serious as well as respectful.  
> But then I have also used general english terms because well the tone of the characters( mianly Aki) was pretty much clear without me taking the aid of Japanese terms to show it.
> 
>  
> 
> ~~~Trust me these are not spoilers just some general plans. I have yet to start writing the next chapter so it will be a miracle for some one who procrastinates as much as me if I successfully manage to write this story. >.


	3. Chapter 2: Akihito's coming of age

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito's coming of age day and other things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I am updating this. This was long overdue. It was so difficult to write out this chapter what with all those descriptions and everything. Did not go into much detail though because it would have sounded like rambling...too much clutter. Anyways, enjoy.
> 
> Edit: - Added small A/N s for readers that find basic japanese words difficult. (If you still have problems just Google it ;-) ) I will put them on bold or something so those who know them already can simply avoid it.

Warm lips brushed over his own. A hand reached behind his back and fingers tangled themselves in his hair. Soft footsteps resounded in the corridor outside. Both Masanori and Akihito snapped out and looked at each other with wide eyes. As Akihito scrambled to remove himself from between Masanori's legs, Masanori trudged forward to get up from the bed and promptly stepped on a wet towel and slipped. The simultaneous occurrence of their actions led to them being end up in a rather questionable position. Masanori landed on his back with a grunt and took his nephew down with him when he caught something to hold on to as reflex.  
  
That something being his nephew's Yukata ( **A/N:- Summer Kimono which Akihito was using as Casual wear** ).  
  
The said nephew had his nose buried beside his uncle's neck where it met the shoulder. The scent of musky pine and cardamom filled his senses as took his time to catch his breath. Masanori looked dizzily towards the ceiling, his view obstructed by inky locks of his nephew who was currently panting near his ear. It was doing things to his senses that he daren't think about.  
  
With a shaky hand he reached up to remove the inky locks from his face when a shriek resounded throughout the eastern wing. Both uncle and nephew lifted their heads and looked at the source. One with practiced tired eyes and the other with a blank poker face (which took lots of tongue biting to maintain). It was the wife. Well, Akihito's aunt as well. _No doubt the scream sounded so banshee like and scandalized_ they both thought. Looks like they were more alike than they thought huh.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Half an hour later they both were sitting on their knees in front of their grandfather/father with a red faced banshee standing near the Shoji screens ( **A/N :- Sliding doors with paper screens.** ) behind the family head.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Turns out the uncle was being ignored as Grandfather asked his dear Shiraha various questions with a gentle inquiring tone. And Akihito answered to the best of his ability. He made sure to keep his tone light and bored. He had read that when lying a person had the tendency to look at his left or upwards.  
  
He made it a point to look towards the tatami straws ( **A/N:- Traditionally, straw mats are used to cover flooring in Japanese homes so yeah Tatami mats** ) towards his right and absentmindedly drew patterns on it with his index finger. He would have made the perfect picture of a child who was caught stealing a cookie and was being scolded had he not been making it a point to meet his grandfather's eyes once in a while. His face looked amicable and body relaxed but subdued while his eyes shined with confusion when he looked up.  
  
It was imperative that he did not divert away from the truth much and so he let himself settle into a confused mindset. Confused over his next course of action of course. There were just so many choices. Of course they needn't know what he was confused over. Let them make the most obvious conclusions themselves. Asami might have probably rubbed off much more on him than he had previously assumed. Ah well, all for the best.  
  
Then his grandfather got impatient. Not to mention his aunt was fuming visibly as she spewed lots of implied vitriol. At that Akihito tilted his head about forty degrees to wards the side as he blinked at both of them with his doe like eyes.  
  
“Huh what do you mean?”, he asked.  
  
Akihito had wanted to ask about a wrestling move that he had seen on the television to his uncle who was rummaging around for a comb in the dim lighting. Then after Akihito helped him find a comb, his uncle offered to show him the correct posture but then in the dark they missed the wet towel on the floor and ended up in a tangle of limbs. Thank God for the bed that was nearby. It had been set up specifically for the guests. Otherwise its always futons ( **A/N:- Floor beds basically** ) in the tea house. Then he looked at his grandfather with an inquiring gaze.  
  
His grandfather turned an interesting shade of red and then purple as he turned to look at his aunt. _Ah embarrassment and anger. Nice combo._ His uncle was looking even lazier if possible. His hair was tied in a low side pony with what was Akihito's hair tie. Even though he looked as lazy as he always looked, only Akihito saw his right eye twitch once or twice. That only happened when his uncle was trying to keep a nonchalant face. He was either amused or annoyed with the proceedings. Akihito is pretty sure its the former.  
  
After the brief questioning, he was sent away and he has no idea what happened to his uncle. He let out a weary sigh and leaned back in the bath. Letting his mind wander, he thought about how he had met Kou and Takato in high school. After his father is dealt with, he swore to seek them out. This time he will have a solid network under his thumb. Kou had been an expert with disguises and he did not know any better hacker other than Takato.  
  
Shame how they had wasted their talents in the previous timeline. Both ended up being part time common salary men and also did odd jobs at the side. He shivered as a pleasant breeze made the trees sway and the candles flicker. Tying his towel securely around his tiny hips, he made haste and reached his room in record time.  
  
Grumbling about teenagers needing more privacy, he made his way behind the changing screens. His uncle was sitting on the futon and nursing what looked like tea. Pointedly ignoring his smirking uncle, he sat on his bed. His eyed the hair tie contemplatively. It was a red colored rubber band which had a long piece of white ribbon tied to it. A nifty trick to create an illusion of a wrap around effect. The red of the band was showing from underneath the white. Putting down his steaming cup of milk he got up and fetched another hair tie, this one a simple black rubber band.  
  
Masanori watched with sharp eyes as his nephew worked on exchanging his hair tie. Kazuhiko had turned out to be quite a sly little thing. He definitely received the best of the Yamada genes. While he seemed to be lacking in ruthlessness, the way he behaved showed a highly calculative mind. After he was dismissed by his father, his wife provoked him into arguing with her briefly before he just marched out.  
  
Apparently, driving Shiraha to a corner yielded more results than he had anticipated. His wife turned out to be a bitch after all. The way she was talking with him lacked respect and the screeching voice annoyed him to no end. Had it been anywhere else, it would have reflected poorly on their family.  
  
“What you did earlier was a test wasn't it?” Akihito asked as he leaned back and picked up his cup of milk.  
  
_Oh, he is observant too._ Masanori smirked vindictively as he eyed his nephew who slumped his shoulders and scoffed at him.  
  
“My dear chibiraha...I guess I will do what you suggest after all you passed the said test didn't you?”  
  
“Hahaha...well well...my uncle is not an Aho after all...stiiill, my ahoji tell me was stealing my first kiss really part of this silly test of yours?? And what about aunty walking in on us? Was that a test too?” ( **A/N:- Ok, so Aho means Idiot and Oji means Uncle so Aho+Oji = Ahoji meaning idiot uncle** )  
  
“Meh...”  
  
Akihito sighed at the nonchalant answer as he watched Masanori sip his tea. Masanori on the other hand watched his nephew discreetly. He had just went along with the flow. He could have stopped anytime but his desire to test his nephew by driving him into a corner won out in the end.  
  
His actions were all calculated of course. Either he would have seen how Kazuhiko would have acted after being in an awkward situation with that borderline incestuous action or how he would deal with being caught. Seemed like he could handle himself pretty well even though he seemed to be acting as if nothing happened between them after all.  
  
“Say Chibiraha, will you allow me to make it up to you since I stole your first kiss...and what a pity excuse of a kiss it was too...” _He~ why not taunt him a little more..._

( **A/N :- Chibi=Little guy , Shiraha= White feather so....Chibiraha = a play on the words chibi and shiraha which means little white feather** )  
  
“Don't get silly ideas now uncle. I had vowed to give all of my firsts to a single person. Today's kiss doesn't count. Although...” Akihito smirked at his uncle as he deliberately raked his eyes over his uncle's body and leered at him when he met Masanori's widened eyes.  
  
“W-what?” Rarely anyone manages to render Masanori speechless. Chibiraha was simply wonderful he decided. In the end, it was he who was being taunted. Not used to being the receiving party of such taunts he simply watched on how this would play out.  
  
Akihito smirked as he slowly crawled nearer to his uncle, leaned in playfully and blew lightly on the reddening ear.  
  
“Listen ne, Oji san...If and when you are ready to take responsibility I might allow you to give me a proper first kiss.”  
  
Masanori looked at his serious looking one hellion of a nephew with a barely masked expression of shock and then let out a dry chuckle.  
  
“Mah mah...I give.”  
  
“Now then uncle, if we are done will you tell me what made you sneak in to you lovely unguarded little nephew in the middle of the night?”  
  
   

* * *

  
  
Two days later, the entire household was busy even before dawn.  
  
The main hall looked as though it was made just for that day. The screens that were set up on one side were painted with bright red of cherry blossoms, dark greens and rich browns. A raised platform was set up a few paces in front of them which was flanked on one side by tall lamps of white and orange screens that had red and brown designs on them and the other side had bamboo decorated with sacred thread and hanging traditional lanterns. In front of the platform arranged in two neat rows were maroon cushions set up for everyone to sit down. The platform itself was decked with luxurious silk cushions.  
  
For Akihito, this had to be the most taxing day in his entirety of his life not counting his previous one...that one only felt like a vivid dream now anyways. Coming of age ceremony meant getting woken up at the crack of dawn and purified well more like splashed with ice cold water from the well. Summer was fast approaching. Even though most of the day was warm, the occasional blowing winds provided much needed relief. So after getting purified, a wide awake Akihito, climbed up the steps towards the shrine still dressed in a white nagajuban ( **A/N:- A plain usually cotton kimono worn as undergarment to protect the fabric of the main garment which are usually very delicate/expensive/ made of silk from body sweat/oil. Rukia from beach was wearing it when she was imprisoned after losing her powers.** ) made of softest of cotton.  
  
Tradition wise only males were allowed to attend and so stuff like helping Akihito bath or dress him up was done by Kaede san's flustered husband with clumsy hands. He was later shoved aside by Shinosuke, Akihito's other uncle who then took the role of aiding Akihito. He adjusted Akihito's attire which was a white Jōe with red stitching ( **A/N :- A priest's formal attire minus the head gear. Something that Masahiro from Shonen Onmyuoji usually wears. Dunno how to properly describe this tbh so just Google image it or something.** ) . He then, throwing consequences to the wind, arranged Akihito's elbow length hair into intricate braids with deft fingers and tucked it close to his head. He ignored the disapproving stares of Akihito's father and took everything in stride. Hints of his grandfather shone through his uncle sometimes in moments like these and always left Akihito awed.  
  
In the shrine some more rituals were performed, mostly prayers and meditation. After which he was led to a private bath area by both of his uncles. By this time it was clear Akihito's father had no interest in his son and so he left the shrine without much prompting. Before Akihito could protest, Masanori stripped him of his clothes and Shinosuke rubbed his body with warm oil. After his whole body was slick with oil, his hair which was tied up in intricate braids was untied by his uncle. The priest then stepped forward and picked up the incense and with slow graceful movements moved it around his body so that the tendrils of heavy smoke would surround him. Then they left him to bath in privacy behind the screens that were put up for him.  
  
Behind the screens painted with pictures of bathing and lounging flamingos, Akihito bathed himself in the cool spring water with soaps smelling of pine and shampoo that smelled of peaches. The rest of them, went their own ways to change their attires for the next ritual. This time it was Shinji, his grandfather's aide who helped Akihito into another Jōe after drying him and led him to the main shrine. From then onwards Akihito will have to do the rituals with the help of the priest only. After he reached the main shrine, the priest led Akihito to the prayer hall where he received his own prayer charm and sacred cord. Then carrying the prayer cord and an incense burner along with a basket of offerings, Akihito went to their family grave site to pray receive blessings from his ancestors.  
  
After coming back he was then led to the meditation hall where he will reflect on his actions and himself. Till he found the answers he was looking for. After lots of meditation and prayer, he came out of the room to see his grandfather waiting for him. They both went back together in a companionable silence. As he reached the house he can see the gardens decorated with paper lanterns and campfire burned brightly in one of the empty spaces where the others were talking in hushed tones and sipping on sake. Kaede san who was now attired in a beautiful formal kimono of autumn colors led him to the dressing area.  
  
In front of a body length mirror, Akihito disrobed quietly. After splashing his body with eau de cologne, he dressed up in white nagajuban ( **A/N :- Plain Kimono usually used like an under garment and worn under Kimono's made from delicate/costly fabric. Typically doesn't have any patterns.** ) that had washed out branches with a few blossoms on it, gray kosode ( **A/N:- Top garment** ) , a darker gray hakama with thin white stripes ( **A/N :- The pants** ) and black date eri ( **A/N :- Removable collar usually worn to give the attire a layered appearance.** ) with gray kaku obi ( **A/N :- Stiff belt** **used for more formal occasions** ) from which hung a prayer charm wrapped in colorful paper of bright red autumn leaves attached to a porcelain Netsuke ( **A/N :- Brooch like thingy.** ) bearing the Yamada crest by a purple cord. The sleeveless montsuki haori ( **A/N:- Usually black and made of silk...this is the traditional jacket that bears the family crest.** ) matched the gray of the kaku obi. It proudly beared the family crest at the back as well as on both sides at the front. The beaded haori himo ( **A/N:- Loose belt of the jacket** ) made small clinking sounds when he moved and the tabi socks ( **A/N :- Stiff divided socks** ) that made his feet itch near the ankles. After making last minute fixes, he called Masanori who then combed out his hair appraisingly and tied it into a low ponytail with the shorter bangs hanging freely.  
  
He was led to the platform where his grandfather, the family head helped him into seiza position ( **A/N :- Sitting on your legs with back ram rod straight aka the tea ceremony posture** ) and sat by his right side on the first cushion below the slightly raised platform. Beside his grandfather sat his eldest son Masanori followed by the youngest son and Akihito's other uncle Tamaki. The other cushions were occupied by the other male members who came to attend the ceremony. At his left sat all the female members like Kaede san and his aunt.    
  
After recital of a short prayer and tea ceremony, one by one all the family members got up and presented Akihito his coming of age gifts. Unsurprisingly his own father was absent. No one pointed that out and pretended as if everything was normal for both his and grandfather's sake. The evening was spent socializing. Only a handful of people who knew about Akihito had attended so it was easy for them to converse after Akihito threw tradition to the winds and sat on the same level as the rest after abandoning his place on the raised platform.  
  
On his request, the dining area was moved to the gardens. The largest tree in the gardens which was still filled with red cherry blossoms was decorated with floating lanterns. The screens splashed with bright colors of gold, red accented with soft greens and blues were brought out and set up below the tree. Makeshift fires were made with tall stands holding empty flowerpots where firewood burned in bright flames. The soft cushions were laid out on the lush green grass in two neat columns and rows of five. The entire area looked magical as the fires burned brightly and the full moon shined brightly in the slightly cloudy sky.  
  
After dinner, they settled down more comfortably and talked about various things. Slowly, as the night went on they started to retire for the night. When Akihito, his grandfather and Masanori were the only ones left, Shinji san appeared with a flask of best home brewed rice sake and a few cups.  
  
“Shiraha on this day as per your wish I did not announce you as my heir. However, that doesn't mean we do not perform the ascension. Let us share some sake.”  
  
“H-hai Jii sama.” ( **A/N :- As I mentioned before, Oji = uncle AND so Jii = Grandfather. Cannot stop myself from using honorifics like san, chan, kun etc because dialogues would be incomplete with out those.** )  
  
Realising the enormity of the request Akihito sat in front of his grandfather obediently as both Shinji and Masanori watched them with rapt attention. On the family head's signal, Shinji poured the sake into a cup and presented it to his superior. Akihito took two sips from the cup as his grandfather held it. The rest was downed by his grandfather.    
  
“You have sworn yourself to the Yamada's now. They will be your first priority when you take my mantle one day. This is usually an exchange between father and son however since I was the one to usher you into your heir ship, henceforth I shall treat you as my son for dealings related to the clan. No, I want you to do an exchange of sworn brotherhood with Masanori. Doing that would mean both of you will treat each other as equals in everything. And after that Shinji will swear loyalty to Shiraha.”  
  
“I would have objected Jii sama, however I will honor Jii sama's wishes and ask you to take into consideration both oji san and Shinji san's wishes as well.”  
  
 Both Masanori and Shinji promptly voiced their affirmation and Akihito sighed resignedly. Masanori held up a cup of sake with his right hand and fed it to Akihito while simultaneously drinking from Akihito's cup offered to him. After exchanging wicked smirks and getting reprimanding glances from the family head for their actions, Akihito warily looked at his third cup of sake and cautiously drunk one third of it and offered the rest to Shinji who bowed and received the cup to drain the amount left.  
  
“I am very happy with the three of you today. I, too once exchanged cups with Shinji and made him my brother when I was young. Of course I had to go against my parent's wishes to do that because he was not of the clan. I never regretted doing that. Shiraha always treasure the bonds you have made today. You can now trust Masanori and Shinji with your life. Masanori will too in turn trust you with his life and Shinji will readily offer his in exchange of yours. After me, the only one Shinji will answer to is you my sworn son.”  
  
Giving a proud smile to the three of them Akihito's grandfather yawned tiredly.  
  
“Now, I know how much Shiraha wanted to avoid ascension. He still did it anyway so in return I must reward you for standing by your clan leader and fulfilling your wishes. Traditionally, a father offers his son whatever he asks today. Of course it has to be within reason but I will fulfill it to the best of my ability so tell me Shiraha...what is your wish?”  
  
This was one of the tests which every member who came of age underwent. It reflected on how much they have grown or how much they have yet to grow. Some asked for simple things willfully while others asked for selfish things showing their true colours. What colours will Shiraha show they wondered as they observed him looking at the tree with a faraway gaze.  
  
“Oi Chibi...we don't have all night.” Masanori said playfully and snapped Akihito from his stupor.  
  
“Well, I have an aim, a goal. I admit I am somewhat obsessed with it. However, it would be meaningless if someone else would accomplish it for me. Jii sama I would like your help in taking the first step towards achieving my goal. Will you help me?”  
  
To say they were shocked would be an understatement. Masanori looked away as his eyes started to sting and his chest felt warm with pride. Akihito's grandfather looked at him with an unreadable face which turned into a look of pride when he voiced his affirmation to his anxious grandson.  
  
“You just have to say it Shiraha.”  
  
“I want to go to Kanagawa for my high school studies.”  
 

* * *

  
Later that night, Masanori startled badly when his nephew caught his hand so suddenly in the dark. It wasn't pitch black as the hallway was still aglow from the moonlight and the lanterns in the tea ceremony room on the other side. He quirked up an eyebrow in question when Chibiraha signed him to not make a sound. Taking quick steps towards the lamps, he picked one of them and gave it to his uncle and blowed off the rest. He stopped as the sides of his vision blurred for a moment and then shut the shoji screens while his uncle looked at him curiously. With a giggle, Akihito again caught hold of his uncle and dragged him somewhere further into the other side of the dark house.  
  
Masanori blindly followed his nephew in the dark as the lantern did little to light their way. He waited for Akihito as he noisily opened the door to his room and pushed him inside. After taking the flask of sake and the lantern from his hands and putting it out of immediate reach, with a whispered assurance of return, Akihito took off once more to God knows where leaving him alone. In the dark. To fend for himself. Masanori sighed and then with cautious steps, made his way towards the shoji doors that led to the gardens and opened them.  
  
Instantly the room was flooded with moonlight and a soft breeze carried the smell of bamboo and the crisp night sobered him up. The bamboo groves outside the room looked etherial and mysterious as he took hold of the sake and took a small sip. It was quite strong and he was sure to wake up with a massive hangover next morning. As he waited for his nephew, he started at the flickering flights of the fireflies far away and dozed off while leaning against the post beside the shoji screens.  
  
He woke up groggily after sometime and took in his surroundings without instantly opening his eyes. The sake flask was not in his hand anymore. There was some cloth on his lap and his back was starting to ache. He opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of his nephew adjusting the bottoms of his jinbei ( **A/N :- Traditional Night attire usually worn at Ryokans aka hot spring resorts. Victor Nikifrov from Yuri!! On Ice is seen wearing it numerous times when he was staying in Yu-topia. Thats me hinting you guys to watch Yuri!! ON Ice ;-)** ) . The ceremonial attire lay scattered around him on the floor messily.  
  
As if feeling someones gaze on him, Akihito shivered lightly. He almost jumped and had to press his lips together to prevent making embarrassing sound when Masanori cleared his throat.  
  
“Mind telling me why you have not worn your top yet? Dawn is just a few hours away after all.”  
  
“When did you wake up?”  
  
“Oh I was awake for quite some time. I could not miss watching my nephew change and catch a glimpse of his cute behind after all.”  
  
Masanori drawled and then opened his mouth to let a jaw cracking yawn escape.    
  
“Are you quite drunk after all Ahoji?”  
  
Akihito admonished lightly and hastily put on his jinbei top when another draft blew in and he felt goosebumps forming in his bare skin.  
  
“Mou, you are growing too quickly chibisuke.” ( **A/N:- Chibi or chibisuke all are nicknames that means 'little guy'** )  
  
“Either call me by proper name or as Shiraha. Anything but 'Chibi'.” Akihito cautioned.  
  
“Heh~ My! dear nephew wants to be addressed properly! I am so proud! Come heere Uncle will reward you some some special sake!”  
  
Saying so Masanori tugged Akihito forward and took a sip from the flask.  
“Now just wait this stuff is too stro- mmmpphh!”  
  
Cutting Akihito's tirade the only way he could, Masanori pressed his mouth against his nephew's and pulled the hair near his neck and tilted his head. He slowly dribbled the sake from his mouth to Akihito's, giving him time to get used to the taste as he slid his tongue and coaxed Akihito to return the favor. After sometime, Akihito shoved him away and wiped away the sake that had slipped from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and glared at his uncle.  
  
“Gaahh!! That stuff was absolutely vile. Anymore of it and I would have gotten drunk! What were you thinking making me drink that strong sake?!”  
  
“Well, now that you have drunk that, I can treat you like an adult. Welcome to adulthood Kazuhiko.”  
  
“Whoooo...you can still behave this way even after being so drunk? I don't know whether to be surprised or impressed.”  
  
“Well, I will feel insulted regardless you know.”  
  
“That was my intention. Anyways, you are returning tomorrow right after breakfast aren't you?”  
  
“I have a morning flight. So yes.”  
  
“Then this absolutely cannot wait. Get up Ahoji and quickly change into the jinbei I got you. I want to show you something. You are now my sworn brother after all.”  
  
As soon those words registered in Masanori's woozy mind he promptly stood up and marched off with the lantern to the adjacent room and hastily changed into a dark green jinbei. He looked up when his nephew slid open the door with his foot and entered with armful of ceremonial attire and simply dumped them just near where he had dumped his own clothes.  
  
“Lets go.” He said simply and walked out.  
  
“Wait Kazu!.” Masanori called back and scrambled to fetch the flask of sake from his nephew's room. The said nephew simply gave an eyeroll and waited impatiently with his right foot tapping softly on the wooden floor.  
  
“Oh God! Just walk already!” Akihito huffed and pulled his uncle towards the other side of the house which was mostly out of use.  
  
“Not. A. Word. Uncle.” Akihito scolded Masanori when he had started to make curious little noises to irk and tease his nephew.  
  
Akihito conjured a key seemingly from thin air and unlocked the door, pulling his uncle in along with him.    
  
“Welcome to the den Uncle.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time will be Akihito in Kanagawa. Yay maybe Asami will appear? Shhhh
> 
> Edit:- Ok so I included small A/N s here and there where I thought it was necessary because seriously I am not putting A/N s for a word every time it appears. People obsessed with anime/manga should not have had any problems with the words I had used but since I want everyone to be easily able to read and understand I am taking the time to put those properly. Besides those who found basic words difficult or did not understand them before can learn new words from this. To be noted though...my explanations while true might not be appropriately elaborate so for further info just wikipedia or google those words ;-) ;-) 
> 
> P. S I just scrapped off two whole chapters of this...sigh...


	4. Chapter 3: The legend of Shiraha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The existence Takaba Akihito finally came to be cemented into permanence. And this time no one died (Not No one shhh)

Even though it had been only a month in Kanagawa, Akihito quickly got used to it. He was after all studying in his old high school. Only about five weeks were left for his next birthday. After his coming of age ceremony, he had foregone dying his hair and now he sported a messy blond hairstyle. While his front bangs effectively shrouded his eyes if adjusted, his side bangs were longer with the part near his ears the longest. The rest of the hair at the back was layered so that the longest was upper back length. His uncle had forced him more like tricking him by making him drunk into piercing his ears and so now he had one lobe piercing and two cartilage piercing on his right ear and three cartilage piercing on his left. Thankfully he had fainted before his drunken self could be fooled into piercing his tongue as well.

 

While this new (more like general) appearance of his naturally made him look like a rebel, the fact that he automatically punched the gym teacher when he was lectured on the first day of school itself made everyone wary of him. Two months later a bored Akihito sought out Kou and Takato. He ended up having to save their arses from some senior students who were bullying him. During lunch break. In the school grounds. In front of more than half of his classmates. And thats what sealed the deal. He became an official delinquent by reputation. Kou and Takato, those morons, gladly trudged about following him like eager puppies most of the time.

 

They grew closer though when other bullies/delinquents sought him out from time to time to affirm or see for themselves if the delinquent was just one by reputation or was the real deal. Of course Akihito set them straight. Though he always acted insulted when he got ambushed and was demanded proof nearly every time. Delinquent groups were suspicious of him as he did nothing other than beating people up when provoked and ignored pretty much everyone else while still managing to maintain decent exam grades. The common folk were wary of him as he stared down anyone who approached him with a blank and cold look in his eyes and that permanent scowl. Sadly, even the teachers couldn't do anything to him for he always answered any questions they would ask. If it was maths he would just write the answer entirely missing out the steps, even in other literature classes he would answer in less than five sentences.

 

* * *

 

Even though high school life was entertaining as hell, Akihito made sure to check up on his family through Shinji once in a while. By the time it was summer break, his uncle already managed to dig out lots of dirt on his father and asked him to not return. By the time summer was almost gone and autumn was upon them, various failsafe were implemented as a confrontation was inevitable. Kazuhiko Yamada never existed in the first place. But now if anyone searched for a Takaba Akihito, the results would show a young boy who was picked up from the streets by the famous crime photographer who passed away just before Akihito started high school. The minor details were ironed out by Akihito himself. The photographer had owed the Yamadas so by Akihito's suggestion they called in the favor from the only existing relative that is the younger sister of the photographer who became Akihito's aunt.

 

So, apparently, Akihito was coping the loss of his adoptive father by becoming a delinquent. His birthday too was changed from spring to somewhere mid autumn about which his uncles endlessly teased him by sending him voice mails of them crying “Oh Haruhito!!” in between pitiful sobs. That always ended up with Akihito retaliating by hacking their mainframes and messing it up.

 

The street scene too was slowly changing and by the time it was the end of autumn the blood lust in the night air was quite noticeable. The crime in the area had increased rapidly and Akihito knew quite a number of his school mates who had joined the said gangs. Though they did nothing serious, he knew that wouldn't be the case anymore once they reached majority. Akihito returned taller and stronger than before for his second year of high school. Much to his amusement though, instead of getting ambushed with demands of his delinquency, now he got ambushed by members of these street gangs who sometimes even begged him to join their groups and Akihito declined each time. He accurately predicted that much of his second year would be spent trying to evade these over eager minions.

 

After hashing out the pros and cons with his 'aunt', Akihito bought an apartment in a cluttered area. The cluttered buildings allowed him to indulge in his adrenaline rush from time to time when he parkoured through different paths just for fun and to sometimes lose insistent pursuers. It was also advantageous that it was far away from his school which bought him enough opportunities to get 'lost' after school got over. Unlike last time, Kou and Takato freely shared their secrets with Akihito. While their parents had left them sizable inheritances, the relatives who took them in were overbearing and negligent. Much to their relief, Akihito always welcomed them to crash in his tiny apartment when things became anywhere near abusive.

 

* * *

 

It was towards the end of April that year that his father found out about Akihito being the supposed sole heir of the Yamada empire. A huge argument broke out between Akihito's father and grandfather. Even his uncles were called to the main house. The conflict lasted for about a week after which Akihito's father simply upped and left. Shinji warned Akihito to be on guard as he believed that his father would surely return.

 

This was followed by a series of misfortunes that befell Akihito much to his displeasure. He got his shoulder dislocated in a fight mid May and had to sit out a few of his exams. Then he caught summer flu from Takato and then it spread to Kou as well. The whole apartment looked bizarre filled with strewn tissues. Maybe his head was not in the right place that he ended up helping the drama club president to carry some costumes. What he did not know was that the said president who was in his final year had a keen sense for making costumes. Poor Akihito had attracted his attention the moment he had helped the president.

 

So when the second and the third years who were not doing anything with their clubs, thought of collaborating for their school festival. And so they ended up doing a themed cafe. Since the festival was a week long, the cafe would be open only the first day and the last two. When their plans reached the drama club, the president rushed in to help them with costumes. They drew straws for their respective duties and Akihito pulled out the worst one. That of the “Theme Mascot”. Basically he would have to stand on the doorway in his theme of the day costume and welcome people with a friendly smile.

 

While the fellow students objected to this as he was scary in appearance after all, their Homeroom teacher who was also the drama club advisor managed to convince everyone to let Akihito take part much to his irritation. As per their theme, Akihito spent the entire of the first day in a teddy costume welcoming customers with a constipated expression and a overly cheerful voice (not that anyone saw his face). The next two days he spent at home sulking and ranting about the unfairness to his two freeloading friends. After much debate he decided to show up for their second day in the cafe in a crisp butler costume.

 

He caught attention of everyone in the school. Everyone stopped to gawk at him when he walked by. His hair was neatly gelled back and tied into a ponytail. The polished shoes made clicking sounds against the floor when he walked by confidently with a blank face. Hell he was even wearing hand gloves and a pair of glasses. While he stood and welcomed who ever came he kept his face blank and unreadable. Towards the end though he let his guard down as he was tired and ended up smiling at a five year old girl who was lost and separated from her parents. They had already seen him in a new light that day and that smile was the last straw. Several girls were convinced that they would surely go to heaven if such a smile was directed towards them. A few of them discreetly averted their eyes as they internally swore they saw flowers around him. And some ran away to prevent nosebleeds. That day a certain super secret Takaba Akihito fan club was established somewhere in the school.

 

The cafe would close early on the last day and thankfully he was not on cleaning duty afterwards. He stood on the doorway in a kitsune ensemble which had a pair of fox ears, clip on heavy nine tails and a fox mask (he dug out from his own collected trinkets) which much to the displeasure of the costume department hid his painted face. His dirty blond hair was dyed to an icy blond now. Lovely blue glass beads were slipped into the two longest bangs, one on each side and the tip was tied off with two white feathers.

 

It made Akihito smirk at the irony. After all even though he did not answer to Kazuhiko anymore, Shiraha was still a name he would answer to no matter what. Both his finger and toe nails were painted with crimson. And they coerced him into putting golden lenses which they swore would glow errily in the dark. The glazed clay prayer beads which hung from his neck made small clacking sounds whenever he moved suddenly. Thankfully though, he had punched their homeroom teacher when he had to wear the teddy costume and had only agreed to wear the other two costumes when the said teacher promised to write him recommendation letters and give him A+ in his extra curricular.

 

His irritation reached his peak when he heard the flashing of the camera somewhere more than once. Sadly, he was unable to apply the wonders of his famous glare as he himself has covered his face with a kitsune mask. At the end to the day he discreetly jumped out the second floor window and climbed down a nearby tree to run into the makeshift changing rooms and discovered that clothes which he had brought to change into after the cafe closed were missing. He took off his mask and tucked it into one on the hidden spaces in the sleeves. Just when he thought that his day couldn't get any worse he heard a loud sound of breaking glass and his world tumbled into black.

 

* * *

 

Akihito woke up to a sharp painful sensation on his right cheek and jerked awake. He quickly blinked to get rid of the bleariness when he found his hands tied behind his back. He was lying on his side and still in his ridiculous Kitsune costume. Moving his gaze around to take in his surroundings, he saw that he was in some kind of meeting. Hundreds of people. All of them were sitting decked up in formal kimonos and talking amongst themselves in hushed voices while one or two made outraged noises. A grunt slipped out of his lips when he felt someone kick him from behind. Lifting his gaze, his heart almost stopped beating when he saw that it was his father.

 

“F-fath-!”

 

Before he could finish his father once again kicked him and then pulled him roughly by his elbow into a sitting position. Stepping over him he turned towards the crowd.

 

“This! This my clansmen is the stain of our prestigious clan. I had done a great service by honoring the last wishes of my late mistress by keeping it alive all this while and letting it live! Image my outrage when I found out my Father had signed over his throne to this!! This piece of dirt!.”

 

His father was literally spitting out his last words when he pulled Akihito straighter by roughly pulling him up by his hair. He smiled at him vindictively when Akhito failed to stifle distressed noises from slipping out of his mouth. Few tears slipped out when the pain became unbearable. His painted eyelids surprisingly remained unmarred. With a bang the both the doors of the hall opened and strode in an angry Clan head followed by Shinji, Masanori as well as Shinosuke.

 

“What is the meaning of this?!” The furious roar of the clans head rendered the entire hall silent.

 

“Ah! _Dear Fathe_ r! Finally,” Akihito's father addressed with dripping sarcasm and mockery “Welcome!”

 

The newly arrived party were breathing heavily as they had rushed to reach the place. When Masanori spotted the bruised figure behind his brother he let out a shocked shout of Shiraha and rushed to his side only to be stopped by his father who clamped his hand in a strong grip.

 

“Ah Shiraha is it? A dear precious jewel of my father. And it seems even my brothers are enamored by him! So much so that they don't even care that the heirship was given to him. He who is not even of the clan. Dirty blooded and not to mention mention brought up like a dirty secret. I! It is I who is the rightful heir!! It is ME who will sit on your throne Father!”

 

“ Shiraha is my only heir. It is my final decision.We have already done the Ascension on the day he received his majority.”

 

A murmur broke out among the spellbound crowd of clansmen. Surely this Shiraha person was someone formidable if the clans head himself had appointed him the heir and even did the Ascension ceremony with him? But other than that no one really knew anything to be able to correctly assume whether the sole heir truly deserves the throne. Not to mention, the throne rightfully did belong to the second son. If the clan head wanted to skip generations while assigning an heir than surely he could have chosen someone who was a clan member- a legitimate child.

 

“Kill that whore Brother in law!! I saw him trying to do unmentionable things to my husband. Surely he must have gained the favor of the main family using his body!! Such a person is not fit to even set foot on clan soil let alone sully the air with his presence in the main house.”

 

With an enraged cry it was Shinosuke now who took a step forward.

 

“STOP!! Nobody moves from their places!”

 

Saying so Akihito's father took out a gun and then looked at his son with a sneer.

 

“Just like your mother aren't you? You would climb anyone's bed readily as long as they are ready to fulfill your whims.”

 

“Don't you dare talk ill of my mother!”

 

Akihito spat at his father in an icy manner at which his father guffawed hysterically.

 

“Now now, you do not get any say in this. Choose Father! Between your throne and this waste of space. If you do not sign over the heirship, he dies!”

 

“NO!! Grandfather What ever you do Do Not Sign Over The Heirship.”

 

Akihito said in a demanding tone which might have sounded out of place but both Masanori and Shinji was able to make out his worries under that false bravado. By now Akihito had helped himself to stand on his feet. But as soon as he finished speaking he found his father shoving him with great force and his body colliding with the glass panels behind the raised platform. Lying in a painful heap on top of broken glass, Akihito palmed the wooden floor and picked up a jagged piece of glass.

 

“Do not lay a finger on Shiraha!!”

 

Grandfather said in a commanding tone which echoed through the entire hall.

 

“How dare you take such actions?! I am still the clan head my son. By intentionally harming my heir do you want to be framed for treason? Trying to force my hand itself...you must think yourself above-”

 

“What are you talking about father?? Surely you must realize how delusional all three of you are being? I am the rightful heir. If not me then why not my other children? Why HIM??!! He is her child. He doesn't even deserve the hand that fed him!”

 

“Let me put this in a way you will understand. Even if Shiraha wasn't a part of the main family, if he had even a drop of Yamada blood in him would be enough to qualify him as the heir. It is time to break away from outdated traditions. I have evaluated Shiraha myself. He is perfect for the throne.”

 

That might have been the wrong thing to say for all the elders were looking at the clan head with thinly veiled agitation. The said clan head though only had eyes for his son.

 

“ As the eightieth and current Clan head of the Yamadas, I, in front of all the branch family representatives, formally announce that boy as my only heir. Harming him means harming the Yamadas and punishment will be dealt without mercy.”

 

“Y-you still remain adamant? I am Sorry Father. I see it now. I will kill you first and then kill that cursed spawn and take the throne for myself as reward.”

 

Smirking vindictively, Akihito's father uncocked the safety and pointed the gun towards the clan head. With a yell of NO! Akihito sprung to his feet as he caught hold of a fallen candle stand beside him and swung it towards his father. He watched unflinchingly as his father fell on his knees. Blood splattered onto his clothes from the deep gash the ran across his father's back. He stood straighter and took the gun from his father's loose grip. He vehemently ignored the rope burns making his wrists smart and dropped a piece of bloodied glass which made an echoing thump. Holding the gun with both hands he steadily aimed at the prone form of his father infront of him and pulled the trigger. He kept on pulling the trigger until the barrel was empty and his custom styled kimono was red in various places. Wiping away the little blood that fell on his cheek, he coldly eyed the shocked crowd infront of him.

 

Some of the sitting members then got up with the intention to capture him but was stopped in their tracks when both Masanori and his father gestured at them to remain in their places.

 

“The fact that I did not even consider the fact that the man that I just shot down was my sperm donor should be proof enough. My first and foremost loyalty is towards the Yamada throne and then my clan. If anyone and I mean anyone threatens the throne, will be taken out just as mercilessly.”

 

Akihito spoke in a chilly tone as he glared at everyone. The candles surrounding the platform were blown off when the glass panel had broken. The light from the candles near the faraway walls cast dancing shadows on his lethal looking form. Expensive garment was splattered with the red of fresh blood, his golden eyes glowed ominously and overall he painted a perfect picture of a warrior back from war or a deadly assassin.It was all a distraction tactic of course. As he was speaking and glaring down at everyone, he took out a handkerchief from one of the pockets and wiped off any kind of traces from the gun and let it fall noiselessly near the dead body of his father. With a flourish he then took out his mask in the same motion in which he hid the bloody handkerchief. Letting his true emotions shine through, he bowed towards his grandfather and slipped on the mask as he straightened.

 

The bloodthirsty shark like grin and his glowing eyes sent shivers of fright down the spines of a lot of people. Although it only made his grandfather, a man who was just as ruthless when things went too far, immensely proud of his grandson. Masanori and Shinnosuke paid little attention to their surroundings and were planning their next actions. While Shinji patiently waited so that he could cleanup the mess.

 

“Have a good day Grandfather.”

 

Saying so Shiraha simply walked away from the scene as though nothing happened gracefully. As soon as he was out of the main hall he dashed full speed towards the nearest boundary wall and scaled it to escape. Helping himself to the nearest public hand pump, he washed his battered palms thoroughly and washed the paint from his face. He also took off the hair extensions and washed away any traces of blood from his hair but let the beaded feathers remain. He then teared his kimono sleeves into long strips and bandaged his palms to stop the bleeding and simply disappeared into a shady alley.Pulling in perfect passerby from the busy pavement, he stole his shirt and denims leaving the poor guy passed out in his underwear in the other end of the dark alley. Changing into those he then wrapped his bloody and tattered costume into a bundle and threw away the previously full wallet into the garbage bin nearby. He fished out his emergency lighter that he had tucked into his thick socks to burn his costume and tucked his kitsune mask into the waistband of the denim pants and covered it with the untucked shirt. He walked as far as he could and then took the last train home from the nearest station.

 

That day the current clan head announced the existence of Shiraha a clan secret and cautioned the present members of the dire consequences that would befall anyone who even thought of leaking it. A month later as Akihito merrily went to school to attend the first day of classes after summer vacation, Shiraha became just a mere whispered secret safe in the shadows. Little did anyone know that his name would spread far and wide in the underworld. Word would reach the Chinese mafia that a Shiraha had killed off one of their best and they would be searching for him everywhere. Not that they would find him ofcourse for he ceased to exist from that day onwards and Takaba Akihito's existence became a certainty. He was to remain forever now.

By Shinji's as well as Masanori's affirmation and his grandfather's amusement few years later, Shinnosuke the black sheep of the main family would ascend the throne as the vassal of the current heir- the mysterious Shiraha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured you guys deserved a new year update ^^ Happy New Year :-) 
> 
> PS I haven't written out the next chapter yet so no updates until I finish at least halfway through chapter 5. Please be patient Minna ^^


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of time skips in here. POV shifts arond quite a bit too. Neverthe less this should be an enjoyable read ^^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaa...after a long time I finally updated...what with me frying up my hard disk. All the data just went fsshhh!! Thankfully, I hadn't started writing this yet. But I got so depressed after three or four chapters of my other stories disappeared that it took time to write out this one. Atleast I wrote this one...the others I haven't even started.

The summer vacation that followed Akihito's kidnapping was spent in making Akihito's Aunt shift to Tokyo. His den in Kyoto had to be shifted. Masanori predicted that soon his father's fellow Yakuza might start sniffing around and if they got too close then surely he would be ousted. All of his hacking stuff were neatly packed into sturdy cardboard boxes and stashed into the Ottoman in his room and all the books which took two full trunks were given to his aunt who most probably put them away in the storage.

 

His relationship with his supposed aunt was not very good initially. Things were awkward and more like stiff conversations over coffee or exchanging e-mails when not in contact rather than the typical warm hugs and daily phone calls. But, they worked on it and now Akihito felt closer to his aunt as though she were an older cousin or something. While his aunt occasionally reminded him to be a responsible person...she never reprimanded him or judged him for that matter. He would share some of his plans and possible actions and they would discuss it over weekend lunches which were sometimes joined by Shinji san if he was in Tokyo. It also helped that she was only one outside the family if Shinji was not counted who was intimately aware of his situation

 

His Aunt sold flowers of all things to earn a living and stayed on the floor above the quaint little shop. By the time summer was over all of them felt as though they had survived a storm or something. The remaining half of his high school second year was comparatively much better and quieter too. Sometime before New Year he even got a chance to meet with his Grandfather and uncles without being subjected to anyones scrutiny. Even though their meeting lasted for around two hours, those few words, warm gazes and 'see you again' hugs exchanged filled Akihito's heart with warmth and staved away some of the homesickness.

 

* * *

 

The days when Kou and Takato did not crash in his apartment, he would roll out the futon to sleep as the ottoman would be kept open with all his Hacker supplies out. While previously he loved snooping around and getting adrenaline rush from hunting juicy news now though he simply preferred to sit comfortably in a dark room and gather dirt about random people high in the social ladder for fun. That way not only he remained informed but also spotted Asami occasionally and took solace in the fact that he was out there somewhere alive and safe. High School studies weren't a challenge anymore. After carefully contemplating, Akihito simply took up online classes about finance management and basic economics to work with something. And by the time the finals knocked on the doors, Akihito thought he might just write his exams with his eyes closed.

 

Third year of high school started with everyone murmuring and staring at Akhito as he confidently walked down the corridors on the first day of class. He once again had a growth spurt. The uniform did nothing but flatter his body. Unlike last year when he simply kept his hair down, this year, he kept the bangs which instead of softly curling around his face, were shorter and spiky and the longer locks were arranged into loose side pony tied with a piece of leather. The shorter bangs provided glimpses of his pierced ears when the wind played with his hair and the leather tie garnered a lot of flirty looks form the female student population.

 

Kou and Takato often teased him about his delinquent status being the only reason why nobody dared to approach him even if many were dying to ask him out. Obviously this ended up him antagonizing most of the male population without even opening his mouth or lifting a finger. So while him being the unapproachable no. 1 that year, there were no fights as everyone was busier deciding their future plans and studies. However, the street fights never stopped. It was not unusual to see Akihito sporting bandages from time to time.

 

All hell broke loose when Kou and Takato found out about his Finance classes towards the end of summer. They declared him their rival and permanently moved over to his apartment vowing to study the entire vacation together. After all it would not do if they simply followed Akihito around. During these three years their relationship changed from minions and leader to staunch friends after all. Inheritance aside, both wanted to expand their arsenal of skills to become someone worthy of standing beside Akihito. They might never mention though how it filled them with elation when Akihito punched them both when they voiced out their concerns.

 

It was on the night before they had to submit their career choices forms did both Kou and Takato confront Akihito. Kou wanted to study mechanical engineering and Takato wanted to try for med school. They both wanted to work right away but then they both discussed that after receiving their inheritances, they could simply use it to become more qualified and earn more money than they could earn by being simple high school graduates. And if Akhito did consent they could simply flip off their relatives and move in with Akhito. Even though Akihito was surprised he couldn't have felt more prouder than ever that night.

 

So, with a mischievous glint in his eyes, Akihito took them to his apartment the next day after school. And with a nonchalant comment of,

''Don't worry we are not gonna have a threesome here..''

covered all of the windows and locked the door. Chuckling at their pensive glances and stiff shoulders, he called them to help him out. It was time they knew his idea of fun was hacking security mainframes of random people. As predicted, Takato became as interested as a niffler towards a trinket and Akihito and Kou watched amusedly from the sidelines as Takato checked out the cool stuff all the while mumbling about getting Akihito to show him the ropes.

 

The last few months before exams were spent with Akihito applying and writing to different Business Schools in and around Tokyo. After providing the paperwork and progress reports of his online classes hopefully his diplomas would provide him some of the much needed credits.. He received acceptance letters from around five or six Business Schools. Two of which even told him that they would consider him for the accelerated course if his performance was stellar in the highschool finals. Unsurprisingly, he scored the highest in his class few of the subjects and overall scored fifth highest among all those who gave their exams.

 

* * *

 

High School Graduation was awesome. Akihito managed to create quite a stir once again. No one had seen him that morning. His classmates barely had time to check him out once he arrived the last moment. Since he owed their homeroom teacher a favor, he was allowed to stand just behind their teacher directly beside their class rep. As their class entered the hall in a line of two, the once silent hall broke out in murmurs. There were a few hushed giggles and if you saw carefully enough you could clearly notice members of Takaba Akihito fan club discreetly pointing out the oblivious guy and giving determined nods to each other.

 

That was the only day Akihito was seen in his complete uniform which he was wearing properly. To tone it down he wore small balck pearl studs instead of his usual spiked ones. What shocked everyone the most though was his short hairstyle, bangs partially swept back with gel. (like the one in cannon). Before he looked like a aloof and lazy brute with a good face. Not to mention the unapproachable aura...now his posture, body and even his face oozed confidence and he had a mature air about him. After the singing of the usual songs the formal ceremonies were over by ten thirty. As soon as the teachers and the rest of the staff were out of the hall, pandemonium broke out in less than a minute.

 

Takato exchanged a few high fives and mischievous smirks with a few juniors and soon the entire school was booming with the bass blasting from the rigged PA System. He looked like he had found his calling. As he hugged Akihito and thanked him for the idea, the rest of the delinquent aspirants looked at Akihito in awe. He smiled at them in return. And that did it. The dam that had been holding every fangirl back from Akihito broke. Suddenly, the wannabe delinquents were pushed away (run over) by rabid fangirls who went Akihito saamaaaa!!! and started to speak all at ones...Most of them were asking for his second button from his gakuran.

 

Akihito winced at the high pitched noise and looked around to see if anyone could help him out. He sighed tiredly when he could not see past the throng of fangirls. The noise was getting on his nerves now. His left eye started to twitch. Did they think that just because he could smile and be genial, they could crowd around him like that? His genial expression disappeared to be replaced with a super irritated one as he let out a loud 'tch' and glared at everyone. His aura leaked with annoyance and anger. Falling back to his old habits he swept his fingers through his hair and just like that everyone saw the delinquent they were afraid of and the girls stepped aside clearing out a path for him.

 

Kou and Takato sighed exasperatedly, after going through the troubles to make Akihito promise not to let out his Unapproachable aura and be amicable with everyone, those fangirls just had to piss him off. They took him by his hands and dragged him of to say farewell to all their teachers. It was Akihito's idea that they would give all the teachers a farewell gift. The next day the fangirls were exchanging clips of Akihito, flanked by Kou and Takato, marching down the hall carrying a large basket full of apples and a huge bouquet of white roses looking quite dashing in his short hair and impeccable uniform.

 

Most shocking event in Akihitio's dictionary however was the fact that his grandfather, two uncles as well as Shinji san had come to pick him up. So, Akihito was the first one to disappear after everything was done for the day. All they saw was him climbing into a sleek car with tinted windows (aka suspicious car) and all they could do was contemplate. Fortunately, people were too much into the celebrations of the day to think about such a happening for a longer time and hence other than Kou and Takato, no one really remembered.

 

* * *

 

As the car revved up standard greetings were exchanged and Akihito got his head swatted with a folded newspaper when he tried to act innocent infront of his grandfather. As if he wouldn't know what his grandson was upto.

 

“By the way, Masaoji where are we going?”

 

“We are going to the main house. There are some things that needs to be taken care of. Ever since f-father found out that you were the one to nudge me into investigating your khm 'sperm donor'-”

 

“I can speak for myself. Shiraha, I was immensely disappointed with you when I thought you were trying to run away from your responsibilities and break away from us but I had not known about your efforts then. Regardless, it made me very happy and proud when I found out about your work from the shadows. I found out everything from your nudge to your uncle to look into my wayward late son to checking in on us once in a while after the funeral and since then have been observing your moves.”

 

“H-hai Jii san??”

 

“Oh don't be so perplexed. He is complementing you.”

 

“Shinnoji, you are not helping in this situation. We could have had this conversation over the phone too so what is really going on here?”

 

“As I had correctly inferred, you are quick to catch up and have a keen mind Shiraha. Now, do not act ignorant I know how you had intended to hand over everything to Shinnosuke here infront of everyone while in actuality it would have been all for show and you would rule the clan from the shadows.”

 

“I apol-”

 

“No need to apologize Shiraha. Its indeed a remarkable plan. However it had one major flaw. The legalities. Your plan cannot come to fruition if you do not have a trust worthy lawyer in your hands. Papers of your origin still exists Shiraha. Its only official records that were erased. So, I would like you to meet my most trusted lawyer and sign over the throne to you and inturn you will be assigning vassal power to Shinnosuke here.”

 

“I would like to think more about trusting this one more person. Is he a part of the clan or sworn to you, Jii sama?”

 

“He is one of the very best and might become the best very soon with the pace he is going. Never the less its upto you to decide. However, the signing of papers is not up for discussion. You will be staying in the main house these five days and thats that.”

 

“Very well Jii sama.”

 

Shinji was serving as a temporary driver of the car and it was only justified that two more cars joined them to serve as protection. As they were going, light conversations took place and Akihito once again got his head swatted upon by his grandfather who then turned to swat Masanori for the ear piercings.

 

Giving in to the urge to lean on the comfy seat, lulled in by the occasional conversations going on around him and brief bouts of comfortable silence, he felt his tiredness creep into him and let himself drift off to sleep. An hour before they reached the estate, he was jerked awake by Shinji who had braked suddenly.

 

Akihito cursed his fate when Shinnosuke pushed him into a hairdresser's when he had an epiphany and apparently it was a Yamada thing because once he smirked at both Masanori and his grandfather, they both looked at him with loads of amusement under shadowed with pity.

 

After and hour of getting his face turned from this way to that and getting his hair pulled, his short dirty blonde hair was once again ice blonde and long. He did not even want to think about the wig much less about the red ribbon tied around his fake locks just a few inches above the tips. He was however more amused when he was asked to wear a half mask that left only half of his nose, mouth and the lower part of his cheeks uncovered. Atleast this time there was no face painting other than orange staining his eyelids (he was so not calling it eyeshadow because it was paint not powder. End of story) and those contacts were not glow in the dark thankfully.

 

Lets just say they geared him to pull off a Miester Kirisaki (a/n:- Refer to Yakitate Japan). Atleast they weren't asking him to pull of a Mukurou (A/n:- KHR) and go all Kfufufufufu to make everyone uncomfortable. All the lamenting and what ifs in Akihito's mind came to an end when the car entered the driveway and stopped infront of a huge traditional style house. I looked as though in belonged in a storybook. Akihito had forgotten Kyoto was filled with so much history after living in Tokyo for so long. He outright ignored anyone who saw or bowed to him as he followed his grandfather just a step behind and flanked by both his uncles on his either side half a step back and the rear pulled up by Shinji two steps behind his uncles.

 

All thoughts came to a halt when they were led into a lavish parlour to wait for the lawyer. They sat down around a low table and Akihito winced slightly as he adjusted his legs into a proper seiza. The Shoji screens were pushed aside to let in the spring air. Conversations flowed around him as soon as they were seated but all fell on deaf years as Akihito simply settled for gazing at the grassy lawn and swaying trees outside.

 

As the opening of the door suddenly rang out in the air Akihito snapped out of his trance and looked towards the door. 

Fuck!

.

.

.

Kuroda Shinji in all his suited glory was standing there.

 

(A/N:- I was seriously thinking to end this chapter here. It would be such a marvelous cliffie no?)

.

.

.

I was joking. Its not the end of the chapter folks!

 

* * *

 

 

Kuroda Shinji tossed the Styrofoam cup into the trashcan as he opened the door to step out of the cafe. A sleek black car was waiting for him. He rarely does menial jobs like mere paperwork but due to his curiosity, instead of sending one of his underling or acquaintance he himself volunteered. The reactions of his colleagues were magnificent. He was the one who had been contacted with looking into the crimes of the second Yamada son and needless to say after he was done the Chinese branch in Japan was obliterated. Now due to some complications that included covering up of identities, his firm had been contacted once again. Word on the grapevine was that the Yamada head was retiring.

 

As the car pulled out into the main road, it fell in line behind two cars of the same model. After almost an hour they pulled into the Yamada estate. As his car was the last on to pull up, he peered outside just in time to see Yamada head get out of the car followed by his two sons, one of whom held out a hand to help out a fourth figure. He was surprised that three of the most powerful Yamada men were traveling together that too in the same vehicle. To each was his own but it seemed like too great of a risk seeing that security was minimum and even their driver was the Aide. Was the Blond figure that important? Interesting.

 

He was led directly into the main house. Usually a house a powerful as theirs liked to show off so he was pretty sure he would have been led somewhere not the main house and that too in a roundabout way. As the shoji screen door slid away he was assaulted by four pairs of similar eyes. What surprised him most was the masked visage of the unknown person. Shinji san who had joined him infront of the hallway cleared his throat and stepped to the front and entered the room. After bowing in greetings Shinji san ushered him in to sit right across the masked person. To his immediate left sat the youngest son beside whom sat the eldest. To his far right sat the clan head who was later joined by Shinji san.

 

“Shiraha sama this is Kuroda Shinji, the man behind the eradication of the plague that had spread under your father's supervision. Kuroda dono, this here is Kazuhiko Yamada, known as Shiraha to most. He is the heir to the clan and the first grandson of the Clan head.”

 

Sinji san introduced with a blank face and a neutral tone. Although it was clear from the introductions that he was being given a lot of information as a show of trust. Masanori san took out a thin briefcase from under the table and the key was provided by Shinnosuke san. An inch thick stack of papers was handed over to him. It contained all the findings about the second son's dealings with foreign Yakuza. Much to his surprise, there also contained written testimonies and reports of the second son kidnapping the heir and the said heir killing off the reckless and unlawful son in broad daylight. That too infront of the clan elders and other representatives. He was cleared by the law ofcourse written off as self defense in exchange for all the information about the Yakuza dealings. Thats where Kuroda had swept in to save the day.

 

“How may I be of help?” He intoned as he set the papers down.

 

“Kuroda its time. I want to sign over my seat to my grandson here.”

 

At that reply Kuroda looked at the supposed grandson right in the eyes daring him to remove the mask. The heir who had been sitting silent looked at him right back. His amber eyes were glinting with what seemed to be amusement. After staring openly at each other for about half a minute Kazuhiko relented by twisting his exposed lips into what seemed to be a self satisfied smirk as though Kuroda was the one who was being assessed. Impudent brat.

 

“Maa maa, Shiraha will never change. Please take no offence to his appearance Kuroda san. He rarely ever takes his mask off. We, his closest family last saw him without it more than five years back. Though I bet he takes it off to sleep or paint his eyes.”

 

The clan head led out a bark of laughter and Shinnosuke placated Kuroda with a friendly and genial tone.

 

“Yeah, our chibi here is quite fond of theater arts and hence his dramatic appearance. Although...I have to say, today's appearance has to be your least dramatic one.”

 

Masanori added in his two bits and Kuroda turned to look at Shiraha just in time to see him let out a soft tch! And huff sulkily. He gave a quick glance at Kuroda and then swept his gaze over to the clan head and tugged on his sleeve in what seemed like a show of impatience. Kuroda merely adjusted his glasses and looked at each one of them with a sharp gaze.

 

“So, what can I do for you Yamada sama?”

 

“Aa...we went over the papers you had sent and they will suffice. So, we only wanted to sign them and send them back. We hold your firm in a very high regard Kuroda dono and hence we hope you will keep our trust.”

 

“Say no more. I will do my best to keep this under wraps and away from curious minds.”

 

At this Kuroda produced the papers and with three signatures, Shiraha became the new Head of the Yamada clan.

 

* * *

 

As Spring turned into Summer, Akihito moved to his aunt's place in Tokyo. He hunted down his old apartment and left his number with the landlord. He would have that apartment even if it was quite a distance away from his new University. His apartment in Kanagawa was given to Takato and Kou who were starting their own studies very soon. Kou could only pay for Med School. His accommodation...well...Akihito's Kanagawa apartment took care of that. Takato, the laid back guy that he was, simply decided to take an year off and study online part time as well as work in the nearby garage with some awesome people they had the opportunity to get acquainted with when they were still in high school.

 

While normal courses took five, Akihito was to finish in three given his records of good performance in high school as well his online classes. Apparently, they gave him enough credits to remove four semesters from the standard ten.

 

By some bizarre twist of fate he bumped into Mitarai. Literally. On the University fund raiser in his first year there. And unsurprisingly he had a constipated expression on his face and was holding his stomach. When Akihito pulled him up into a standing position, instead of thanking or apologizing, Mitarai took off the camera hanging on his neck and placed it on Akihito's hand. After voicing out a please hold onto it for me, I will find you!! he again ran to wherever he was running off to before he collided with Akihito. With a sigh, Akihito checked out the camera in his hands. It looked well used and taken care of not to mention it was the latest model in the market. He felt like crying for he was holding a camera after such a long time.

 

With a devious smirk on his face he opened up the roll slot and his smirk widened when he saw it barely had five pictures. With a decisive nod, he lifted his hands and peered into the viewfinder with his right eye. His felt his body start to pump adrenaline as the thrill of the hunt settled bone deep in him. Letting out a sadistic cackle, he moved to the shadows confidently. No one saw him for the rest of the night including the poor Mitarai who spent the rest of his time searching for the person whom he had given his precious.

 

Akihito took out his phone and called Kou and Takato who were hanging at the flower shop. After giving out instructions he slid the phone back into the pocket and resumed to click pictures, determined to exhaust the roll. After all the sneaking through the shadows and slipping away from a frantic Mitarai, he finally sneaked into Mitarai's personal space from behind. Delivering a clean chop to his nape Akihito deftly caught Mitarai's slumping and unconscious body. Exchanging smirks with Kou in the driver's seat, he stuffed the body into the car and they sped off leaving dust in their wake. Oh Akihito was gonna have so much fun!

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deliberately left off some parts. They might or might not be exposed as the story progresses. I promise Asami appears next chapter. Since I updated as soon as I finished writing...it might take some time for the next update. Until then feel free to ask me any questions you have. Please be patient. ^^~


	6. Chapter 5: Lights! Camera! Asami!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I promised you Asami didn't I?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it wasn't very ooc and even if it was, the oocness was justified. Now that the storyline has reached the manga timeline nearly, the pace will be slower but yeah the chapters will be longer. This might appear abit cluttered and any mistakes init are all of my own because yeeaahh it was not beta read. So if you spot any discrepancies please let me now. :-)

Akihito woke up with a start. He blinked a few times to get rid of the lingering sleep, unsurprised to feel more tears trickle down. Crying in his sleep was nothing new to him. Only, no one has caught him so far. In accordance to his daily routine, he booted his laptop and prepared his breakfast all the while brushing his teeth. He quickly rinsed his mouth and hurried through breakfast. He logged in and switched on the dialer to open the email account.Yes, he knew he was behaving like an over obsessed stalker guy but this was the only way. Using his retained memories, he had hacked into Sion security mainframe as well as into Kirishima's email account. Seeing that Kirishima handled most of Asami's dealings he was surprised why no one targeted him. After all one could get more information about Asami's day to day dealings if they just hacked into Kirishima's account. Although hacking first into Sion might have had something to do with how easily he could log in to Kirishima's account.

 

After casually phishing a couple of emails of the previous day, he logged out. He meticulously read through each one of them before deleting them with much difficulty. The desire to see Asami itched him to his very bones. It was one of the reasons why he had such a hectic course load. All of his years in university would have been for naught if he had upped and left just to go after Asami. He knows that Asami wouldn't reject him if he goes about it correctly. That guy has no morals what so ever. However, Akihito just had to save his family and he did not even prevent from appointing himself the heir. And while all theses years might have twisted Akihito's own morals, he was not so dense.This time instead of jumping head first, Akihito invested more in plotting. Asami's territory has been widening as of late and even if somehow they had gotten together, he would not have been successful in keeping Asami's attention and staving his family's at the same time. With a frustrated sigh he flopped down on the bed and smothered his face on his pillow. Letting out and annoyed groan he got up once again when his phone ringed an email alert. Another notification about receiving his due payment. Snapping it shut, he simply fetched his towel and strode into the bathroom lazily. Third year of university had been a whirlwind. He worked on his thesis all the while attending his classes. He simply couldn't wait another year and since there weren't any restrictions or rules about it he simply dove into his work.

 

The longest he was not in contact with anybody other than Shinji san was five months. Those five months comprised of attending classes, burning the midnight oil to work on his thesis, cyber-stalking Asami, Sitting in the library to finish his assignments just so he could prevent himself to barging his way into Sion and declaring his love for Asami and getting no more than four hours of sleep. He could swear he was running on coffee by the time he had managed to reach a point in his thesis when he could take a little breather. Now though he was done with university and he was not going to take any new classes even if his life was at stake.Mitarai had been a lot of help. He made for an excellent outlet. Akihito while investing on increasing his repertoire in underhanded skills was seriously addicted to seeking thrill whenever he liked and since he simply couldn't go news or scoop hunting, he had settled for hacking. If he got any scent of big scandal or scoop he simply beckoned Mitarai. He had enough dirt on the said journalist to keep a leash on him. Sometimes Mitarai swore Akihito sent him into wild goose chases just to have fun. The only benefit it did was making Mitarai's rivals think that all the scoop Mitarai had gotten so far were simply by sheer luck. They thought it to be less of an wonder after they followed a clueless Mitarai roaming about randomly. They were pretty sure Mitarai only stumbled into those interesting scoops.

 

Akihito very much aware in the going ons, having much experience himself, timed it all so nicely that while getting at least one major scoop every month, Mitarai hardly got more than three. So far Mitarai was doing swimmingly, his arrogance has toned down to a great length after he was almost caught a few times. Hell, he almost got killed once and Akihito had to step in to rescue him. While he could have simply sat down and invaded the cyber world all day, too much was never wise so he toned it down to a few days per week. After being forced to take on a cover job by his uncles, he became a private financial auditor. His clients ranged from small scale business companies to big ones like his own. Once a week he made it a point to video conference with Shinnosuke who was running his clan.The feeling of all the world's burden on his shoulders melted away as he sunk his tired body into the warm bath. He rested his head on the edge of the tub and looked at the ceiling directly in his line of sight. He traced the grooves and knots in the wood with his eyes and let his mind drift around the thoughts of Asami. He had accepted that he was very much in love with the smug bastard. Unlike the previous time, he wouldn't be able go all Tsundere on Asami. But, he could sure as hell make Asami enjoy the thrill of a nice chase. With a smirk adorning his features he got out of the tub and started to towel himself dry.

 

A new sense of determination filled him as he stared at his own reflection. Come hail or thunder he was gonna meet Asami. He didn't know how but he was sure he will be meeting Asami before the week was over. The next three days had been spent submitting the final reports to various companies. Two of which had been partners and were inviting him for drinks since Akihito had helped them nab a few money grabbers. Of course the situation fell into Akihito's favor as they wanted to meet up at Club Sion. He was sure though that they were more intent on acquiring more investors and sponsors than meeting up for drinks. After all they were condescending jerks who were more business minded than anything else and loved to boast.They had all but implied that Akihito might not be able to enter Club Sion since he was not up above enough into the social ladder. As much as Akihito wanted to punch them in their faces, he merely offered them a friendly smile and told them not to worry about mere semantics. He was after all more than thankful about just being invited. They shared a secretive smirk between them as though they knew something Akihito didn't. Akihito was very much sure though that they were not expecting him to show up. They had all but implied while his scruffy outfits might have been suitable when he was working privately but he would have to dress up sharper if he wanted to walk beyond the doorstep. Bastards.

 

Something was nagging at him very badly and that very night he sat down to hack the personal emails of those two show offs. Usually he chose which company to work with after hacking their mainframes and getting a general feel of what sort of works took place. If they were legit enough and was doing no underhanded stuff he would choose them. Akihito fell out of his seat in astonishment. This happens sometimes. Hell, this never happened to Akihito so far but apparently those two were involved in some kind of trafficking ring and they were exchanging emails with someone about Akihito's meticulous prowess in accounting. Meeting in Club Sion now made more sense.Akihito prepared as though he was going into war. He called in Kou and Takato for the weekend on Friday night. Kou also rented an inconspicuous car for two days following Akihito's instructions. They both arrived around seven and their jaws dropped in shock as they took in Akihito's appearance when he opened the door. Akhito was once again sporting ice blonde hair much to their exasperation. His usual Gothic earrings were replaced by simpler and classy studs some flat circular disks and some Jewelled. He was also wearing his, what Takato claimed were, hacker glasses since Akihito only wore those when he was sitting in front of his laptop for more than an hour at a stretch.

 

Akihito them filled them in all the details for the night and Kou synced up several burner phones with Akihito's original one. He is simply obsessed with those. After both of his friends helped him dress up, they wished Akihito all the luck and made him promise to be careful. He got into the rented vehicle and checked his gelled hair one more time in the rear view mirror. Feeling very much suffocated from wearing a graphic tee underneath the shirt and blazer he tugged on the snug collar. The necktie which he was forced to wear by Kou was not helping other than making him feel out of breath. Apparently they brought out his eyes. Fools the lot of them.He also went a step further and brought a thin beanie which he could stuff into one of his pockets and would pass it off as an overly large handkerchief if he was frisked at the entrance more thoroughly. He also had a duffel bag of extra clothes in his car if he had to make a run just in case. His tie pin and cuff links were bugged with listening devices and overall lets just say Akihito never felt this excited since the time when he had marched off like a pompous ass after killing his own father. As a precaution, he parked the car in front of the other end of the nearest alley.

 

Fishing out the recently swiped Sion membership card from his inner most pockets, and walked towards the guarded doors of Club Sion. A sense of homecoming filled Akihito as he walked into the familiar place. The lowermost floor was usually open to outsiders if any event was going on. All they needed was an invite from the one hosting the events. The upper floors were members only area with VIP amnesties. With a sigh he made his way to the bar counter and sat down with his back towards the counter. The dance floor was filled with young adults and teenagers dancing to the music and the tables arranged around along the walls were filled with older patrons talking in hushed tones. Looks like some rich ponce was throwing a party.Turning his head slightly he eyed the bartender who was wiping what looked like a crystal cut class with a cloth. He looked familiar though. Most probably not a mere employee then. He narrowed his eyes to focus on one of the tables half covered by shadows. It seems they were here. Adjusting his cuffs, he turned towards the bar tender.

 

“Will you do me a favor?”

The bartender look at him with an unreadable look. Akihito sighed.

“Look I don't mean any harm, its just. Here keep this.”

The bar guy look at the membership card with wide eyes as if debating on what to do next.

“Look, I originally came in to return this but its not everyday a commoner like me gets entry into such a high end place. Here you keep this and do whatever with this and inturn make me a Bleu Screen in your tallest glass and put it in this guy's tab. I am pretty sure this whole place has surveillance anyway.”

 

Akihito gave a self deprecating smile and spoke in hushed but placating tones. He mentally heaved a sigh of relief once the guy gave him a short nod in affirmation. After five minutes he eyed the Blue liquid swirling in the crystal glass and stood up to head towards the shady clients who had invited him. Clearing his throat he looked at them with a stoic face while cackling in his mind at the astonished and calculative looks they were giving him.Akihito easily recognized the two men sitting there languidly and sipping what looked like Martini. It was the third guy who was the unknown factor in the whole equation. He was sitting in the seat with the least exposure and was silently watching everyone. Sliding into the seat beside the suspicious third guy, he looked at each one of their face inquisitively.

 

“Well, well who would have thought Takaba san would be successful in entering such an elite establishment.”

“Haha I had to pull in a few favors but I got in somehow. Although its for tonight only. I borrowed a membership card.”

“Ah your clientèle must be widening if you can so readily acquire such highly sought privileges.”

“All in good time. What I want to know is when are you going to introduce me to the man sitting on my right and staring at us for the last ten minutes?”

“Ehehe Takaba san your jokes never gets old.”

“Takaba Akihito, I have heard so much about you from my......friends here. I am Huan Li. Its nice to finally put a face to the name.”

 

Akihito eyed the man. Now that he introduced himself Akihito could make out some of his distinct features. The Scar on the right eyebrow kind of looked somewhat familiar now that he properly looked at Huan. With a disarming and friendly smile Akihito nodded and shook his hand. The calluses he felt were definitely from knifes and guns. A black line was peeking out from the white cuff. This was not a mere underling. Bloody hell.

 

“Huan Li Dono its nice to meet you too. Now Gentlemen shall we get down to why I was wanted here?”

 

They were not going to let him go without an answer. Akihito sighed. The buzz was slowly starting to build up. All the noise from the partying going on around him provided good cover for them to talk. Huan Li was apprehensive at first. But after a few choice words from minions one and two about how Akihito was trustworthy broke the dam. They wanted him to manage the financial details of their trade.That is if one could call human trafficking a trade. Looking at the appraising looks this Huan Li was giving him, Akihito was pretty sure he would be included in the commodity list if he did not comply with their requests. Akihito jolted out of his self induced stupor when irritated and loud voices reached their table from near the entrance which was quite far from where they were sitting. Great more drama.

 

“That sounds nasty.” Akihito spoke up after remaining quite for most of the time.

“This was a neutral territory so we are not expecting any disturbances. I am sure those causing ruckus are mere civilian sheep.” Minion Two said placatively.

“What do you mean neutral territory?” Akihito hissed furiously.

 

They looked at him with astonished expressions. He was not looking at them though. Almost as if he knew he discreetly observed the patrons on the floor above them. Some were leaning against the thick glass railings and watching the party going on below and the others were facing away socializing with flute of alcoholic beverages in their expensively decked hands.He felt his breath catching in his throat when he caught a flash of golden eyes. Asami. All the noise around him reduced to a distant buzz and the world around Asami distorted into blur. He could feel himself drinking in Asami's appearance. A burning feeling which he was very much familiar with burned himself from the inside when he spotted a brunette in a teal dress clinging to his arm. He averted his eyes quickly. The moment must have lasted barely a minute but it felt quite longer than that to him.

 

Akihito found himself thanking his starts. If the jealousy hadn't taken hold of him so fiercely he might had a breakdown in there. He looked up to see Huan looking at the party attendees as though he was keeping an eye out for any signs of trouble while the minions were sipping their drinks while giving him impatient looks occasionally. He cleared his throat sheepishly and then finished his remaining drink in one huge gulp.

 

“Ah excuse me, I just got a bit anxious. Its not everyday I am offered such intriguing offers. Please ready the papers. I will be signing after all. Although if you would allow me five minutes. I am afraid I am unable to ignore nature's calling any further. I shouldn't have drunk so much.”

 

Huan Li chuckled at his predicament while those minions were holding their sides and grinning at him. Worthless scums. Laughing embarrassedly, he stood up and frantically made his way towards the washroom with a smirk decorating his face. By the time he reached the washroom he vehemently ignored the wetness on his cheeks and the blurring of his vision. With a bitter laugh he punched the glass in front of the washbasin. He scoffed mockingly as someone let out a scared squeak and scampered away.

 

He rubbed his eyes to wipe away the tears. It was simply not enough to see Asami alive. He wanted Asami to have eyes for him only. A rush of possessiveness filled him and he furiously tore out strips of tissue from the roll near the sink and blowed his nose. Asami will not know what hit him! He knew. Oh he knew more than anyone else that Asami was not going to be waiting for him. A brat who would stir feelings of lust within him and later sweep him off his feet. Even in the previous timeline, Asami had a reputation for being quite a playboy.

 

But Akihito was a brat regardless. Twelve years Asami's junior! He had his coming of age just an year ago. [A/n: Akihito is thinking about the standard Japanese coming of age which is held for twenty year olds. He is now 21. According to cannon he met Asami when he was 23 so yeah Asami came into the picture 2 years earlier.] And he was not supposed to come into Asami's notice before another two years. Waiting can go to hell he thought resolutely. As soon as he was out from this shitty place filled with memories, he will start planning on ways to catch Asami's attention. The good kind. Of attention that is. Looking around for surveillance cams discreetly, he spotted only one near the door that most probably offered full view of the sinks.

 

He fished out his beanie and unfolded it. Pulling his face at the sagging old rag he pulled out a steak knife he had swiped from the service tray. Folding the beanie he made a strategic holey slit on it and pulled it on his head. Deftly stuffing in all of his hair he pulled down the edges of the beanie. Holding his breath he managed to pull the old fabric till it gave away and managed to cover his whole face with the beanie. The slit now looked like a gaping hole through which his left eye was peeking out. With a decisive look at his reflection, Akihito made his way towards the toilet cubicles.

 

Reaching back into his memory as far as he could, he opened the doors one by one stifling a shout of triumph when he saw the one he opened had a window with glass blinds on it. With careful hands he started removing the glass panels one by one. It most probably led to the dark and narrow alley near the club. Peeking out he saw the ground only around five feet below the window. Sweet.Retracing his steps, he checked his watch it has only been two minutes. Plenty of time. Balancing on one foot, he hefted up his left leg on the counter space between two sinks. He smirked at his reflection. These trousers were godsend to provide him with so much maneuverability. Mood somewhat uplifted he hummed a tune as he started to unlace his shoes.

 

Taking of his sock he put the shoe back on and then checked the grip. Grinning at the quality, he latched the door but not before dangling the 'Cleaning' sign that he fetched from the supply closet. Climbing up the counter top with a single motion he then stood at the very edge and reached out with his foot and after some twisting managed to balance precariously between the walls which led to the narrow doorway. Using his hands he pulled up his body further and balancing his body on his legs and one side of the wall, he took out the sock and covered the camera with it.He jumped down and quickly removed his rigged items and put it in the airtight packet he had brought with him. Removing everything from his person other than his t shirt and trousers, he stashed the discarded cloths on one of the dry sinks. Flicking on the flame of his lighter he set the other sock on fire and dumped it on the silky shirt and made his way towards the cleared window. He only had approximately two minutes before the fire alarm rang throughout the building.

 

He sat hunched over behind some dumpsters. With a grimace at the smell, he removed his beanie and then folded his trouser legs to his calves so that it looked like a poor quality Capri. Looking at the ground and at his dress shoes in distaste he made his way to the edge of the alley. After checking for spectators he removed his shoes and flung them behind him and dashed to the alley on the other side of the road. All the while failing to notice the alarming number of black cars gathering on the doorsteps of the club and the security guards stepping out of the club.Akihito successfully reached his car making use of the road on the other side of the alley. The fence he had to vault himself over did not count. Opening the door he climbed in and pulled open the glove compartment to stuff the rigged trinkets. Fishing out the unsealed bottled he poured it generously over his soiled feet and then slipped on a pair of neon flip flops. Sighing in relief, he quickly took a look around and pulled down his trousers to switch them with a pair of sturdy cargo pants. Dialing the landline number to his apartment, he climbed in and closed the door.

 

* * *

 

_Aki?_

“Takato, is Kou with you?”

_Yeah he is here. What happened?_

“I am gonna die you guys!!!!”

_Whoa calm down._

“Calm Down?!! I ran away as soon as I could from the jaws of a shark I tell you!”

_Are you unhurt and safe?_

“Kou, hai hai I managed to get away unscathed. That is if me burning my outfit for the night to cause ruckus doesn't count...hehe”

_Riiiiiigghhtt..._

“Well, I have had enough of drama for one night. I will be home in half an hour tops. Traffic might be heavy in some places.”

_Aki-!_

 

Sounds of gunfire rang out in the otherwise silent air.

 

_What was that sound?!! Don't dally in there Akihito! Come home soon. It would be for the best if you did not go searching for trouble._

“Yeah.”

 

By the time Akihito hung up noise of the commotion the broke out was quite loud. Against originally planned, Akihito started up the car and pulled out into the road infront of the club instead of the one on the other side of the alley. On his rear view mirrors, he saw people running about like headless chickens around what looked like sleek black cars. From his place, he could see at least two masked men with guns shooting periodically at what looked like Sion security guards. He grimaced when he saw them shooting whoever got in their way without hesitation.All thoughts of calling 110 left him as he spotted Asami holding his hands to his bloodied sides with clenched jaws. Before he knew it his body was moving on his own. Ducking out of view and stepping over the fallen body of the bitch in the teal dress, he quickly reached Asami's side. He must be injured in more places because Asami was looking at the cars with a steely determination showing no signs of registering Akihito moving to his side. Looking around for either Suoh or Kirishima who were always around Asami, Akihito let out a frustrated groan when he spotted more people flooding out of the club.

 

Wrapping an arm around Asami, Akihito tried to move him towards the security guards who were shouting out orders at people to take cover as well as simultaneously moving them away from the way. All his efforts were for nothing though as he found himself struggling to take Asami's entire body weight as he slipped into unconsciousness. A shout caught his attention and he found who looked like Suoh making his way down the stairs towards him. Before he could do anything however, a few more gunshots rang out and Akihito flinched before stiffening as a bullet grazed his upper arm. The gun men were slowly making their way forwards.

 

“Oh Kami sama, I am asking to get killed. Dunno what I am doing anymore.”

 

Throwing caution to the wind, Akihito started to move around the increasing crowd while adjusting Asami into fireman's carry. He could not see Suoh anymore but the gun firing had increased. There were no signs of cops or anyone calling 110 for that matter. He somehow stumbled out from the crowded area, out of range of vision from both Sion security as well as those gun men. Pushing Asami into the back seat, he hurriedly climbed in and started up the car. With a last look at the chaotic scene he pulled into the alleyway and drove out to the road on the otherside. He could still feel the adrenaline in his veins and hear his heart beating very loudly. Five minutes after escape, Akihito finally settled down. Slowing down the car he pulled infront of a medicine shop and bought first aid supplies along with a few other meds ignoring the shopkeeper starting at the bloodstains on his T shirt as well as his bleeding arm. Dumping them on the front seat, he reached towards the back to check Asami's injuries as well as see if he can find anything useful. Fortunately or unfortunately, all he could find were three guns which he quickly wiped in his already spoiled t-shirt and put them in his duffel bag. Letting out a string of curses, he started the car and took off full speed.

 

Dialing Kou's number on speaker, he placed the phone back on the stand. Driving towards roads with less traffic he slowed down as Kou picked up the phone.

 

_“Where the hell are you moron?!”_

“Kooouuu~ Kill me.”

_“...”_

“I ended up picking someone up.”

_“...”_

“Say somethingggg!!!!”

_“...so you ended up kidnapping someone once again.”_

“No!! I don't kidnap people.”

_“Oh really? Then what abou-”_

“Mitarai doesn't count! Besides it was only that one single time! Must you bring it up now when I am bout to have a PANIC ATTACK????!!!!”

_“Whoa whoa take deep breaths Akihito. I am putting your call on speaker. No doubt Takato wants to hear this!!”_

“Guys?...Please don't make fun of me. I almost signed myself over to a slave ring managerrr...”

_“WHAT? I ought to lock you up and keep you away from the big bad world once you come back..._

 

_Speaking of which its already past the half an hour mark Aki chan are you even coming back?”_

“I don't know. For the time being I am just driving around. The guy who I picked up was shot. I reckon its already on the news.”

_“Ah Kou has gone to switch on the telly. But Aki cha-an~ WHAT ARE YOU DOING DRIVING AROUND DOING NOTHING WHEN YOU HAVE SOMEONE WITH YOU WHO IS MOST PROBABLY BLEEDING TO DEATH??”_

“Shit! Takato why are you shouting? And besides I checked his injuries, no major arteries were hit, gun wounds were only bullet grazes.”

_“I am sorry. I was only freaking out...Its terrible and all over the news Aki. Please come home quickly.”_

“No no I am already halfway to our Kanagawa place. The media and the cops...they will be sniffing all over the place. Already I messed everything up by picking up this injured man, I don't want to put you guys in danger as well.”

 

One of the best thing about Akihito's place in Kanagawa was that it was in the middle of one of the most crowded and busiest places. Even though it seemed to be the most disadvantageous place for Akihito seeing that he was trying to sneak an unconscious and bleeding Asami into his apartment, no one knew the ins and outs of the area better than him. Even though the place was like an overcrowded Chinatown, the night scene was actually very different here. To put it simply, the fire escape by which Akihito was currently sneaking into his apartment was in the emptiest and darkest parts. A stark contrast to the bright and colorful lights and the din of nightlife resounding throughout the road just outside his front door.

 

He grimaced when Asami groaned in pain at being set down on the floor. He hurriedly walked further in to the apartment eyes frantically searching out what can be used. The shadows danced along the walls as the only light pouring in was that from the busy world outside. It was enough for Akihito to make things out in the dark. Without bothering to switch on the lights he shoved away the table mats and empty ramen cups to the floor and then made his way to the medicine cabinet to fish out the military grade first aid supply box.

 

After meticulously cleaning and patching Asami up Akihito gathered anything incriminating and shoved it into an old duffel bag. After making sure everything was spic and span he crawled out of the window by the fire exit. Afterall Akihito wouldn't call himself good if he didn't clean up after kidnapping one of the most successful and richest men around. If Akihito played his cards right, he might even be able to get rid of this Huan Li character. Some times he wished he could simply kiss Asami and be done with it instead of kidnapping him and then crawling around at night in Chinatown like a burglar.

 

After returning the rental car, Akhito easily sneaked back in with more supplies. So far there haven't been any public or official announcements about anyone missing but Akihito was pretty sure Asami's men were vehemently searching for him. To be careful, Akihito only used burner cell phones to contact Kou and Takato. To put a rest to their concerns, he promised both of them that he will let Asami go as soon as he was able. This apartment while bigger than his own had more things in it so the place looked small and cramped at best. While both of his friends invested in sturdy Ottomans to save space, they still kept their shared room an organized chaos of things from tool boxes and car parts to plastic skeletons and laundry basket full of unwashed lab coats with suspicious stains on them.

 

* * *

 

 

Two days later, Asami regained enough consciousness to realise he was somewhere that was neither a hospital nor his room. With a grimace he looked around trying to take in all the escapes and exits. The buzz in his ears was not letting him register the smallest of sounds. Slowly he got up from the bed and stepped infront of the nearest mirror. Someone had cleaned him up. He was dressed in sweat pants and his own shirt whose sleeves somehow nonexistent. He could feel his stitched wounds under the bandages on his right thigh and left arm.

 

Staggering towards the door with the intention to find out more of his mysterious caretaker, he entered the empty kitchen. By now the fog had cleared up and he could make out the sounds of the busy street outside. The clock showed that it was half past noon. He frantically looked around trying to see if he could use anything like a weapon in case he needed to defend himself. The pounding in his head was not letting him recollect what happened before he lost consciousness. The last thing he could remember was his phone being knocked off his hand in the crowd of frantic people. After that it was all blurry but he did hear what sounded like a frantic phone conversation but it sounded far away and indistinct to his half conscious senses.

 

Asami looked around trying not to aggravate his body and at the same time find out anything that could clue him into what was going on. After, what seemed like forever all Asami found was that the apartment was someones home...well multiple someones actually. There seemed to be a distinct lack of a feminine touch so no female occupants. And they were most likely young adults struggling through their new found freedom since the house was very very disorderly. He flinched when packets of ramen tumbled down on him when he opened a kitchen cabinet.

 

Suspicious sounds were coming out from behind the door to the washroom. Avoiding the inevitable Asami approached the door soundlessly with a knife clutched tightly in his injured hand. The door appeared to be unlatched and so he toed it open. Sneaking in soundlessly, he came upon a very intriguing sight. Lowering the kitchen knife, he took in the hunched figure sitting in the empty bath. Somehow managing to sit cross legged in the tub of all places with a laptop perched crookedly on his lap, sat a young man typing away with eyes behind a pair of glasses focused on the screen.

 

“Ahem!” Asami cleared his throat while quietly tucking away the knife into his back pocket to appear harmless.

 

“Hmm?”

 

Adjusting the laptop into a less precarious position the boy looked up and much to his amazement grinned at him cheekily. He took out the lollipop from between his lips (and no he was not looking at that succulent mouth because it looked so kissable) with a plop and checked him out with clinical detachment.

 

“So...finally you are awake. Any questions?”

 

The nerve! The boy sounded like an absolute brat. Discreetly, Asami inspected the boy from top to bottom. The boy looked like a native though he did seem to have some foreign blood in him judging from the light colored eyebrows and the little amount of hair that escaped from being tucked into the black beanie. From his attire he appeared to be what looked like a NEET (and a person like him only knew what that was courtesy of Kirishima). Twisting his expressions into his best intimidating sneer, he glared at the boy.

 

“Brat, do you know who you are talking to?”

“Tut tut, if you want to introduce yourself so much why go about it in such a roundabout way? By the way Takaba Akihito at your service. How may I be of help?”

 

The sheer audacity of this boy made Asami more agitated. His injuries were still throbbing slightly and he was still weak from all the blood loss. He wanted answers and he wanted them quick.

 

“If you value your life! You will answer me before I end if sooner than you can blink!” Asami snarled while brandishing the knife threateningly.

“Please! Death by a kitchen knife? What a pathetic way to die...Never the less lets go to...well lets get out from the bathroom first.”

 

Saying so the boy stretched like a cat making the loose top drive up and tighten around his torso and Asami gulped as he eyed the sliver of pale skin and the sinewy neck. Had he not been injured Asami growled mentally, he would have been the one having fun at the brats expense!

 

[A/N:- Lol Asami be like...drat! I could have easily had my way with him if I hadn't been injured!Tch!]

 

He stepped aside to let Akihito pass and followed after him with a grimace. Akihito placed his laptop on the table and plopped down gracelessly on the worn out sofa. Asami stepped forward and internally fumed at the sheer audacity of his supposed savior. He glared at the brat as he met his expectant gaze. Takaba let out a sharp grin immune to the intimidating glare of the most ruthless man in the underworld. Asami barely refrained himself from strangling this Takaba brat.

 

“Please sit down somewhere. I don't want to have to carry you to the nearest horizontal surface. Again. If you lose consciousness.”

 

Asami glared harder if possible but relented by sitting down stiffly on one of the out of place chairs.

 

“Now, listen to me brat...I have some questions that better be answered. I would have dealt with you in much stricter ways had I not been this weakened by my injuries.”

“Har har...stop with this boring nonsense..blegh! 'Answer me! Or face the consequences' is what you mean I suppose. Weeeellll...Let me explain my side of things aaa Achoooo!!! Hem! aaannndd After that if you need further answers I guess I will answr them to the best of my posibilities.”

 

Saying so Akihito loudly blew his nose in the handkerchief that he had procured from his pockets and hid his amused smile when he saw Asami's disgusted glare. It was Asami's fault that Akihito was suffering from blocked nose anyway. After all that crying and sobbing he fell asleep on the couch and had woken up with a headache and a sore throat. Thankfully, Asami was not present to witness his breakdown.

 

“Now I suppose I could start with why I picked you up. Lets say I barely escaped from signing myself over to this chinese group who mainly deals with slave trading and initially I was hoping to blackmail my way out of everything. But then!”

 

Akihito ignored Asami when he opened his mouth to say something and continued in a casual tone.

 

“You happened...er...more like that gun ambush happened and I figured I would pick up the first richest guy I come across and inexchange of saving his life, generously let him get rid of this...thorn lets say...from all of our ways. But then I did pick up the first rich guy I saw. Imagine my surprise when that happened to be you. Initially I did not know your identity, it was only after I finished patching you up that I realised that I had managed to grab the goose who laid all the golden eggs meaning the mother of jackpots!!!”

 

 

Asami looked at Takaba Akihito with a not amused expression as he internally debated Akihtito's mental stability.

 

“Are you being fully honest with me? And this is not some down played ploy to capture me?”

“As a show of my goodwill let me inform you that I did not throw away any of your guns. And no you will not find them if you look for them in this place. I am aware of your real...stature...in polite as well as less than polite society.”

 

Akihito refrained from rolling his eyes at Asami's amused snort and went full Yamada on the unaware man.

 

“I patched you up. So, you go deal with that Huan Li person for me and we will call this even. To sweeten the deal, as soon as you agree I will gladly hand over to you whatever information I have about them and also return all your confiscated belongings.”

“Do not say confiscated as though I am a child, kid. You might be some rag tag med student who dug up gold by sheer luck but I will never forget your impudance.”

“Pshh! We can continue this useless banter at a later date. I am not a med student fyi and you can look me up after you are back to wherever your liar is. I think you will be plesantly surprised. Now, tell me is that an yes to my offered agreement?”

“...yes.”

“Well! Aren't we lucky today? Here...have my phone and call your worried chickens and remind them they still have their heads intact and that they may stop running around. Please tell them to be discreet and tell the specific address only to the ones you explicitly trust because if anyone traces this line they would think you are somewhere in Okinawa.”

“...??”

“Thats the beauty of burner phones.”

 

* * *

 

Asami let out an inaudible sigh as he discreetly watched the brat change his bandages. Used to everyone gold digger or not ogle his attractive body appraisingly, it was a fresh change to watch this brat look at his injuries with a critical eye disregarding everything else.Just an hour ago he finished talking with Kirishima. It was a conversation he would never have again if he had a choice. Suoh was a much better option any day although the man was only his head of security and not his second. As soon as Kirishima heard Asami's voice he started to bombard Asami with so many questions that Asami simply held the phone away from his ear for about three minutes and glared at a snickering brat while doing so.

 

Thankfully, it was only a phone conversation. Had they met face to face Asami is pretty sure Kirishima would carry him away and lock him in one of his safehouses if he did not verbally chew out the poor Takaba brat before. Even now Asami finds himself refraining from shuddering when he was reminded of that one incident where Kirishima would not leave him alone and kept insisted on feeding Asami himself.

 

“Don't think your minions will take much longer to arrive now. I have changed your bandages and patched you up to provide you as much as mobility possible without risking tearing of your stitches so yeah you will survive the journey. In return you will forget today and we will call this even after I am not pursued by this Huan Li character and his cronies anymore.”

“Very well.”

 

* * *

 

The first thing he was trained in as an Yamada Heir was to decieve everyone by concealing his real emotions by putting on whatever emotions he desired whever he wanted. It only sounds easy however it is quite difficult for someone as impulsive as Akihito.

 

First step is analysing the situation at hand.

Second and third is being aware of your real feelings and knowing how you would have reacted when faced with the situation and then reigning in all of those real feelings inside.

Fourth step involves judging and making the decision on what expression to put on regardless of what you are feeling. It was the hardest step.

However nothing is as hard as doing all these like a second habit, transitioning from one put upon expression to another so quickly that no matter how the situation changed it would look all the more genuine.

 

Masanori was an expert of this. His permanent put on persona is that of a laidback and lazy person so even if his transitions were slow atleast he could fall back on his bored expression instead of that blank poker face which any normal person would have fallen back on and had gotten caught as a result.

 

Grandfather was in a different level altogether when it came to decieving whoever read him based on his facial expressions or body language. Akihito skipped the body language lesson altogether and inturn was rigorously crash coursed by Masanori. So to look as genuine as possible he never strayed from his bright and impulsive personality. His posture always screamed laidback or confident according to situations. Stiffening or flinching were big no no s seeing that those would immediately catch attention.

 

So when he could not control himself any longer he simply covered Asamis body with a soft blanket and rushed to the bathroom where he lock himself up and proceeded to sob pathetically. Tears still continued to flow unhindered even after he had calmed down and went about clearing up the mess while hiccuping occasionally. It was only after he had laid down on the couch to take a nap that his tears stopped. And maybe for the first in a very long time, Akihito slept peacefully without having to knock himself out by liquor or hard work. As much as he had deemed himself fully prepared to face Asami, he was ashamed to admit that he had stiffened for just a moment longer than acceptable when he saw Asami entering the Bathroom in his peripheral view. He all but quickly fell back into his pre Yamada persona. A persona he had practiced a lot when he was still in training to become the perfect Yamada head. It was mixture of Uncles Masanori's usual laidback persona coupled with the apathetic demeanor Shinnosuke put upon when driven to a corner. The touch of snark however was all his own.

 

He refrained from laughing out loud when he saw that it was not a proper knife it was a bread knife that Asami was threatening him with. He had to concede though that if Asami used it properly, a bread knife could be a good weapon. After hashing out a reason and putting forward a negotiation all at the same time Akihito relaxed a wee bit in relief when it looked like Asami was atleast willing to contemplate and consider. The slump in his posture as he sat on the sofa was all too genuine and for a moment Akihito wanted to let his emotions show unhindered but then a voice which sounded surprisingly like Kirishima said- _Now is not the time Takaba dono_. And funnily enough Akihito was able to gather his bearing all the while feeling incredelous at what ones mind could cook up in times of great need.

 

The conversation between Asami and Kirishima made him laugh till he was about to fall out of the sofa. His full blown laughter was toned down after he convinced himself not to appear so hysteric infront of Asami and so he snickered quietly when he saw Asami glaring at him while holding the phone away from his ear as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do. He had never seen Kirishima being such a worrywart. Truly, his loyality and concern for Asami's well being knew no bounds.

 

Touching an awake Asami was a chore. He had to chant in his all kinds of things from the names of medicines that he could use on Asami to all the openings of that anime he was following. It helped him from pulling Asami into a hug and kissing him into oblivion. A half naked Asami was all the more tempting. However when Akihito focussed on Asami's injuries it helped make his resolution stronger than ever. Soon he will be standing with Asami- but not behind like the last time, this time it will be beside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't now when next update will be since I haven't written any more chapters yet but yeah I will be writing more of this so drop in a line or two about how this chapter was ne? It would be a great help thanks!


	7. Chapter 6: When Akihito teases and teases

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mother hen Kirishima and Gentle giant Suoh. Asami and Akihito meets again after Akihito accidentally propositions him. 'nuff said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am posting this as soon as I finished writing. There are a few small timeskips. This time I attempted to write more from Asami's pov. Its my belief that Asami has very good control of his emotions and while he might not let all of them show on his face, he feels them like any other normal person who may or may not be a Yakuza head. If you guys find it very ooc though please let me know. Also, much focus will be put on building Asami and Akihito's relationship as they did meet two years earlier than cannon so cannon arcs will only start later.
> 
> Now without further ado, I present to you...Chappterrr 6!!

Someone knocked on the door loudly and Akihito stood up. By this time the sun was already setting and Asami fell asleep sometime back due to his pain meds. As soon as he unlatched the door, it opened with a bang and almost struck him. Within mere moments, Kirishima, Suoh along with four other men in black barged in with guns in there hands. So frantic were the entire group that they did not see Akihito behind the door holding his forehead.

 

“OH MY God!!! Asami-sama!!!”

 

Kirishima almost let out a hysterical shriek and sped towards Asami. With teary eyes he held Asami by his shoulders and shook him while muttering about cutting, whoever did this to him, to tiny pieces. Akihito gulped as Asami's right eyebrow twitched and he let out an annoyed groan. Kirishima released his master's battered body heaved a sigh of relief even as Asami's body thumped back on the couch soundlessly. Akihito snickered silently as Asami was helped into a sitting position by Suoh who silently stood beside Asami.

 

As far as Akihito was aware, Asami was especially irritable if he was injured or recuperating from his injuries. Snatching the gun from Suoh's hand he pointed it towards Kirishima with anger making his golden eyes look more captivating to Akihito.

 

“Oh for my sake Kirishima! Shut the hell up and pull yourself together before I shoot you in the knee caps!.” [A/N:- The Asami will never say something as plebeian as 'for God's sake'.]

 

Kirishima 'ahemed' and pulled himself together after getting barked at. By this time Akihito had enough of reigning in his bubbling laughter. He let go of the door and guffawed as loudly as he felt like throwing his head back and ignoring the door that shut with a thunk and the five or six gun that were being pointed at him. Kirishima and the others minus a stoic Suoh and an amused looking Asami had a 'holy fu-!' expression on their faces.

 

“Oh Gosh! You have quite the horde of minions caring for your wellbeing Asami-sa~ma~.”

 

He teased Asami and predictably Kirishima held the gun tighter and the others stiffened in anticipation and looked at Asami waiting for him to react. Asami who by this time was fully awake looked at him with narrowed eyes even though his eyes were still shining with amusement. He averted his eyes from Akihito's and let out a small sigh. Driving a hand through his messy hair he looked at his men.

 

“Stand down. Takaba Akihito is the one who helped me recuperate. He is harmless.”

 

Akihito's eye twitched in annoyance at being called _harmless_. He could harm anyone he wished thank you very much. As though guessing Akihito's train of thoughts, Asami looked at him and then chuckled quietly. The suited men put away their guns and Kirishima fussed around checking Asami's bandaged injuries. Suoh on the other hand looked around the small dingy apartment curiously. Akihito, already aware with their mannerisms, quietly trudged away to the kitchen. Pulling out two bottles of coke, he held one out to Asami who took it much to the bewilderment of his minions and took small gulps of the drink.

 

After Akihito finished his own drink, he set the bottle down with a clink, the sound once again drawing the attention of the people around him. He went through the door and looked down towards the road. As predicted, around five-six cars were waiting. Drat. Letting out all the anger he stomped in and glared at the nervous looking men.

 

“One of you please help Asami out the fire-exit towards the back and the rest of you...out of my house! Incompetent fools, what were you thinking parking so many identical looking BLACK!! cars smack in the middle of a tourist spot huh?? Get one of the cars to wait near the fire exit. Unspoken policy of the locals is that they would turn a blind eye to whatever happens in the alleyways as long as no one is dying or being killed. So! All of you _out_!.”

 

Akihito panted slightly as he finished his ranting. Asami lifted up his uninjured hand halting Kirishima who had just just opened his mouth to tell Akihito off.

 

“Never took you as someone capable of mouthing me off, brat.”

 

“I do not care who you are. I don't have any beef against you Mr. _Injured-stranger-san_. So please.”

 

Gesturing towards the fire exit he waited to see whom Asami signals to do his bidding. Everyone minus Suoh left through the front door. Kirishima steps ahead of the rest as he would be the one to bring in the car. As Suoh helped up Asami, Akihito stood infront of the tall man and smiled at him cheekily.

 

“I would like to thank you for keeping quiet and not causing a big ruckus unlike some of this guy's minions. So here you go.”

 

Saying so Akihito caught hold of Suoh's free hand. Other than his little finger giving a slight twitch, Suoh showed no outward reaction. Though Asami looked ready to strangle Akihito. Fishing out two candies wrapped in bright wrappers, he put them in Suoh's hand and turned to Asami. Asami looked like he was struggling between feeling amused and irritated. Amused because Suoh lost his composure on being handed candies and angry because his injuries were aching slightly and the bandages only made him feel itchy.

 

“Ara! Asami...do you want candy too?”

 

Asami snorted at Akihito who was looking at him with an overly exasperated expression and held out his uninjured hand with a smirk on his lips and eyes daring Akihito. Akihito plunged his hand into his pocket and then let the candies drop onto Asami's open palm. Asami looked down and then met Akihito's gaze only to offer him a saucy smirk. Suoh averted his eyes as his face became slightly flushed. _The situations he tended to get into with Asami-sama_...pretty sure he deserves a raise rather than two candies. Akihito looked down to see what Asami saw and gapped wordlessly.

 

Asami watched in increasing amusement as a fetching blush bloomed on the brat's face spreading to the tip of his ears. He knows it wasn't intentional but he would be damned if he did not take advantage of this situation. After all it wasn't everyday that Asami Ryuichi is handed a condom along with a candy...usually its their bodies that they tended to...throw over him...

 

“My~ How bold of you brat. If you had only propositioned sooner...”

 

Asami was mocking him! _That bastard_. A vein popped on Akihito's forehead. With forced calm he looked at Asami, his lips stretched into a forceful smile.

 

“This is a huge misunderstanding Asami. And I would like to have that square packet back please.”

 

“Its mine now.”

 

“Why you!...no no I will not be forced...he is _injured_...injured. _.very badly_...”

 

Akihito muttered the last part to himself. Asami smirked in amusement and leaned close to Akihito, his lips brushing the reddened shell of Akihito's ear and Suoh hastened to accommodate him with his face still averted. Akihito sputtered and covered his ears as soon as Asami blew on it. The nerve of that man!

 

“Alas, I must be on my way. But, let me hold on to your offer.”

 

Saying so, Asami tapped the packet to his lips with a teasing smirk and pocketed the condom along with the candy and limped towards the fire exit leaving a flustered Akihito behind. As soon as Akihito locked both exits he slumped down on the floor and pulled on his hair in embarrassment. Most probably his face was once again trying to become a tomato.

 

_Oh my God_!! He was going to kill his friends when he met them next. He knew Kou had a habit of stuffing random pockets with cheap candies, jello sticks or lollipops but condom was taking it too far and something Akihito had never anticipated.He made note to search the whole apartment and then burn his precious stock be it candies or condoms!! On that note Takato was better. He did not have a sweet tooth or candy obsession. Alas, Takato's pants tended to be a poor fit so Akihito rarely borrowed his clothes.

 

Akihito shuddered recalling Asami invading his personal space. He could almost smell the smoke and musk that always seemed to linger on Asami's skin. Oh how he wished to forgo all propriety and kiss Asami. But, he did not want to be just a casual fuck. It was more important than anything to first and foremost make sure Asami remained interested. Akihito groaned when he felt himself harden at the thought of kissing Asami. He stood up shakily and dragged his feet to the bathroom.

 

The cold shower was calling him.

 

* * *

 

It has already been three weeks since Asami was relieved from Akihito's care. While in his previous life, Akihito came across Asami due to bizarre coincidences, he felt sad that now Asami has no reason whatsoever to come looking for him. He might have not enticed Asami enough that Asami would even consider chasing him. Probably. Depressed by his thoughts he crawled out of his bed unable to go to sleep. Even though it was only four in the morning, Akihito thought it a good time to do some work to distract himself. Letting his laptop boot up on the low table, he forewent tidying up his bed and groggily made his way to the shower.Dumping his clothes haphazardly he felt the last remnants of sleep going away under the cool drizzle.

 

He shivered involuntarily and quickly put on some clothes from the top of the messy pile. And after about two cups of coffee, he dialed up Mitarai's number with a dark chuckle. After ringing him three more times, a groggy Mitarai answered his call. All Akihito did was though laugh in his ear very loudly and then verbally chew him up for being so incompetent. His sleep schedule has become so messed up because he had listened to Mitarai and then went and had a ''drinking night out'' with Kou and Takato in the afternoon just a few days after Asami had gone back to Tokyo. After that either he would miss his dinner and sleep from even until very early in the morning or miss his lunch due to having fallen asleep and pull all nighters.

 

Kou had given him the silent treatment for four days after he discovered that Akihito had stolen all of his pockies and the rest of his cheap sweets were nowhere to be found. Takato had wisely stayed away from both of them. It was only after drinking quite a bit that Kou was even willing to say a word or two to Akihito. Later, when Akihito poked and prodded, it came to blows between them but it wasn't blows, rather they went and had a Karaoke Sing off and it escalated quickly from there. Later, when Akihito woke up at three in the morning with a massive headache and sore throat, he forewent speaking for two days straight and stayed in the entire time. Kou and Takato had to drag him out after they found out about his seclusion not that it did anything for his messed up sleep schedule.

 

After helping himself to last night's left overs, Akihito worked on auditing some more and then when it was almost noon, took another bath after ordering takeout. A half eaten plate of Chinese later found Akihito dead to the world snoring away softly on his unmade bed. It was only when thunder crackled ominously did Akihito wake up around seven in the evening. Eating some more of his leftover lunch he threw away the rest. Cursing his fate who seemed to have fun messing with his sleep, Akihito tidied up his room and then went to the shop in the next block to buy more coffee and call his grandfather from a nearby pay phone.

 

* * *

 

 

The next time Akihito sees Asami, he is not even half conscious. It was his mother's death anniversary. Due to him having to maintain anonymity, the option of going to the memorial under the light of the day to pay his respects seemed very much out of the question. So, the witching hour found Akihito creeping across the old graveyard to his mother's gravestone. After burning some incense and offering sake and flowers, Akihito dragged his feet back to where he had parked his Vespa. With blurry vision, he managed to drive until he reached Tokyo Bay, where he parked his two wheeler near the bridge and then proceeded to drink himself to oblivion.

 

Millions of thoughts wrecked havoc in his inebriated conscience and all Akihito could do was let out an occasional hiccup and then curse the fates. He had never been close to his mother. Before, he had deliberately closed himself off from that chapter of his life so much entirely that he never had to pause in life and think about his mother. But, this time, that chapter of his life was still open. The Main branch of Yamadas were still alive. The memories of his mother remained a blur in the back of his mind. But, her warm hugs and the smell of Magnolias that always lingered around her were still fresh in his mind. Before, he had been an impulsive punk who no one other than Asami could tame, but now he had obligations, to his family as well as his clan.

 

A few gunshots echoed in the crispy air of the night and the coppery smell of blood brushed Akihito's nose. While a normal person would have scurried away to safety, a person gone as far as Akihito, drunk off his ass, simply took another huge gulp of Yamada's most expensive and strongest sake and sunk down on the road and leaned heavily on his Vespa. The breeze from the waterside caressed his warm body and the lull in his senses allowed him to sink further and further into the chaotic abyss of his mind. A sleek black car stopped in front of him, the screeching brakes echoing in the empty road. Akihito looked down from his poor attempt at stargazing and found himself looking into the face of someone who he had been yearning for his whole life this time around.

 

Asami.

 

At Asami's signal, Kirishima got out of the car and helped Akihito settle down beside Asami. Asami looked at him inquisitively and proceeded to pry Akihito's fingers from the sake bottle and succeded after applying quite a bit of force. Asami lifted the rim of the bottle to his mouth and took a little swig, immediately resisting the urge to flinch at the the strength of the liquor and smirked contemplatively at Akihito who was now looking through the partially down window. Asami looked at the blonde who seemed to be far away, watching the scenery pass by with half lidded eyes ignoring the wind playing with his bangs, urging Asami to grab those spiky locks and see if they are as soft as he though they were. His hand twitched as if subconsciously attempting to act on those desires and Asami turned his head away to look out the window on his side.

 

Halfway through the ride, Akihito turned towards Asami and when asked about where he lived, Akihito let an indignant squawk escape his lips as he watched Asami in bewilderment.

 

“Wh-who...No! Ho-how did I get here?”

 

“ _You_ tell me.”

 

“No no this cannot be happening! You have to let me out! Me cannot be here absolutely!!”

 

“Kfufufufu It seems you have had quite a bit to drink Takaba Akihito.”

 

“I did _not_ drunk! I am _Find_!!!”

 

“Yes yes whatever you say brat.”

 

Akihito made a strange kind of noise in the back of his throat and then turned his body towards Asami and leaned forward, letting the weight of his body rest on his arms which he placed on the seat just near enough to feel the warmth radiating from Asami's legs. Asami watched silently as a drunk Akihito peered into his eyes with what looked like blatant curiosity. His eyes were immediately drawn to the partially open lips as warm puffs of breath escaped that kissable mouth, the smell of fragrant sake hitting Asami as he breathed in. Akihito tilted his head slightly to the side and Asami could literally see as those steel grey eyes sharpened.

 

“Yo-you have _bloord_ on your chin.”

 

At Akihto's soft murmur, Asami lifted his hand to wipe the speck away. The car took sharp turn and Akihito swayed and went plop with a yelp- face smack into Asami's lap who stiffened instinctively. Mentally urging Takaba to get up he observed with forced nonchalance as Takaba turned his face sideways to prevent his nose from getting squished further and then proceeded to _nuzzle_ into his thighs with his cheek while staring off into space blearily. But, Asami could see was just how close Akihito's lips were to his already half hard groin. And as Akihito tried and failed to get up multiple times and simultaneously succeeded to increase Asami's problem, the latter sighed and pushed the brat away roughly.

 

_Oh Kami! he was so fucked_! [A/n:- Pretty sure you can understand how Asami must be feeling if he said 'God' lol ]

 

* * *

 

Akihito felt like dying when he woke up the next morning. His head felt like it was being hit by a sledgehammer and his body was cramping in places he knew would restrict his movements for the next few days. _Serves me right_ , he thought next. After all no had told him to drink himself to oblivion in the middle of nowhere...speaking of nowhere?!!! Akihito tried to sit up with a start.  Keyword\---> **tried**. Because his attempt to take in his surroundings and map out possible emergency exit points were futile because he ended up tangling himself with the sheets that were once covering his modesty and fell off the bed with a thump. Akihito heard a snort in the background which sounded very loud in his head and then groaned loudly then immediately regretted it if his involuntary wince was anything to go by.

 

Momentarily forgetting his not so recent transmigration to the past, Akihito made grabby hands towards the presence he was sure belonged to Asami while pouting sulkily, eyes yet to fully open. He shuddered and groaned as he was helped into a standing position by a strong pair of arms, the skin to skin contact feeling like hot brands against Akihito's bare body. He woke up some more...enough to perceive that _yeaaahhh_ he had traveled back and this Asami wasn't his yet...Akihito's headache increased when he felt Asami's hands over places where it would not be possible had he not been...NAKED???!!!...well atleast he was still wearing his briefs but-!! Who the hell had undressed him. With a frustrated huff he wrenched himself away from Asami and instinctively reached for the dresser nearby to support himself and abandoned the sheet covering him in favor of dragging himself to the shower.

 

He changed direction halfway though, since he was supposed to not know where the shower was...so he went to the most obvious place- the sink in the open kitchen and splashed his face with with cold water. He shivered more from the heated gaze he could feel sweeping over his back than the cool droplets rolling down his front from his face. With a grimace he rinsed his mouth to get rid of the shitty lingering taste and brushed away the extra wetness from his mouth as he turned to face Asami who as predicted was leaning against the doorway and looking at him with an unreadable expression. Akihito opened and closed his mouth a few times in a desperate attempt to begin a conversation before Asami starts getting 'ideas'.

 

“Do you suppose you could...you know guide me towards the bathroom instead of standing there like a statue?”

 

Oh Shit! Akihito had absolutely not intended to snark at Asami like that...the typical Asami detests disrespect and especially if its from someone who is practically a stranger to him. Little did Akihito remember that Asami had most probably already run a check on him and was giving him so much leeway due to Akihito managing to intrigue Asami despite being so different from before. Instead of saying anything, Asami (that bastard!) _smirked_ at him and then strode towards him with determined steps. Akihito looked on curiously as Asami approached him and then held his chin in a firm grip and looked at him with a piercing gaze.

 

“Tch! Brat it is your fault for tempting me so much. So, don't start blaming me.”

 

Saying so, Asami pulled Akihito into a dominating kiss. Asami growled at the back of his throat as soon as their lips connected and Akihito shuddered when his lips tingled from being nipped at by a very forward Asami. Just when Akihito had managed to pull back and opened his mouth to reprimand Asami, the opportunistic bastard took it as a chance to dive in tongue first with renewed vigor. By the time they separated, Akihito was panting with the top half of his body slumping against Asami who was looking at him with a heated gaze. Asami would have smirked but Akihito was not the only one who was sporting a hard on now. Asami placed both of his hands on Akihito's hips intent on completing what he had so impulsively started one of his hands caressed Akihito's sides and the other rested on the swell of Akihito's pert bottom.

 

Annoyance and arousal plagued Akihito and anger bubbled inside him as hunger registered. Even though he was mostly angry at himself for indulging in Asami when he should have been more aware of his surroundings. Unlike before he had his identity to protect, a persona to maintain. Had it before he would have been sputtering in indignation and stroking Asami's sadistic sight who would have then most probably tied him up. When his stomach had enough, it announced its hunger loudly enough for both of them to hear and instead of Akihito blushing in embarrassment like Asami thought he would, much to his surprise though, the brat scowled at him as if _Asami_ was the reason he was starving. He watched in amusement as Akihito literally shoved him aside in favor of browsing through his refrigerator which was basically empty.

 

Once again, this brat managed to catch him off guard. Instead of throwing a temper tantrum because of his lingering hangover and empty stomach, Akihito let out an exasperated sigh and walked out into the living room nonchalant about Asami following him silently in curiosity. Taking liberties as though Akihito belonged there, he simply picked up the landline and called Kou.

 

>>Where are you Akihito??

 

“...” Akihito grunted as an answer letting the person at the other end assume what he would.

 

>>...Are you drunk?

 

“Food..”

 

>>Wha-? Akihito! You are definitely hungover! I called you so many times an-

 

“I don't give a fuck about what you have been upto! Send some food Goddammit! My stomach is killing me.”

 

>>Psshhh! Chill Mr. Grumpy-arse Do I need to track you or you are gonna give an address?

 

“Hn. Label it as fragile and say at the security that its for Asami Ryuichi.”

 

>>What?! Akihito! Don't tell me you spent the night with him!

 

“Hn.”

 

Saying so Akihito carelessly let the receiver down and looked at an impatient looking Asami. Most probably Asami never had anyone so blatantly ignore him before and much to Akihito's relief and Asami's dibelief, Aki-chan wasn't sporting a hard on anymore. People literally threw themselves at Asami and seeing Akihito brush him aside like that made that need to make Akihito submit burn more intensely. Akihito mentally heaved a sigh of relief though seeing himself waking up in Asami's unused guest room confirmed his suspicions. Asami was waiting to take him, typically he wouldn't have given a second thought before having his way with Akihito but since he did save Asami's life, he was being given a bit of free space before Asami pounced on him. The last thought almost made Akihito giggle which he covered by clearing his throat.

 

 

 

Asami who was still checking out every bit of Akihito's body snapped his gaze back to Akihito's face at the sound of throat being cleared. Takaba Akihito looked like a ruffled cat whose eyes shone with defiance even if his posture screamed desperation. Those tempting shoulders slumped further when the poor boy's stomach let out a small rumbling sound. Asami was not by any means a typical man, he did have specific tastes but somehow he found himself making small exceptions for this boy infront of him. Even if small, exceptions for Asami was a big thing because Asami Ryuichi did not do exceptions. He was a merciless, cold and swift underworld scion whose reputation was only rising by leaps and bounds.

 

“Where are my clothes?”

 

“But you look better like this, brat.”

 

“Tch! Give me something to wear atleast, its cold in here and the bathroom please tell me where is it?.”

 

* * *

 

 

Asami was quite used to it by now. He surprised himself by how much he was allowing Akihito to be rude to him and he was allowing Akihito to get away with it. Strangely enough, Akihito never crossed any lines or blatantly bad mouthed him. So for now, Asami consoled himself, for now he will simply sit back and observe Akihito only to show him his proper place if the brat crossed certain lines. Asami leered at Akihito as he took in the brat well built physique but limber body and then wordlessly made his way to bring the brat his clean clothes. On second thoughts, Asami simply pulled out one of his own shirts and offered it to Akihito.

 

Asami was expecting the brat who was grumpily fidgeting on his butt...no he will ponder about that pert behind later...to throw a temper tantrum only sighed in exasperation (?) as though he couldn't have expected better of Asami and took the offered shirt wordlessly. Asami was internally bewildered that he was kind of...put down(?!!) because the brat had such low opinions of him. Now, he was downright offended! How dare that brat smell his shirt to check whether its washed or not! Although now Asami felt like he had won a price when Akihito nodded at Asami perhaps in gratitude (one can never be sure with a brat with feline tendencies) and put on Asami's shirt. Asami then made his way to the kitchen and made himself a tall mug of Americano. When he was halfway finished with the black beverage of energy, his attention was sought by Akihito once again who was asking him about food.

 

Figures a brat would be asking about food. Weren't young people supposed to be hormonal and horny all the time? Asami was however more determined to have his way with Akihito sooner or later. _Very soon brat_ , Asami smirked, _you will be begging and screaming my name_.

 

“Would you mind?”

 

Akihito asked suddenly. Asami who was once again intrigued replied with an one worded 'no'. He was surprised however when the brat offered him a mischievous grin.

 

“Just sit back and enjoy this, old man!.”

 

Asami felt arousal shooting down to his groin and became half hard because of the way Akihito was looking at him. Whatever he was about to say in reply for being called an old man died in his throat as Akihito stood up in one swift motion and hiked up his shirt exposing his washboard abs. Okay he was fully hard now after watching Akihito bite on to that shirt and move both hands towards his briefs. The doorbell ringed but Asami ignored that in favor of watching Akihito. Arousal took the backseat as soon as he saw Akihito hike his briefs upwards as far as he can and just like that arousal once again battled with intrigue to reclaim its front seat. Asami pushed aside his burning desire and watched by withdrawing himself from his emotions as Akihito pulled down his shirt roughly and nodded to himself.

 

Asami looked down to see what Akihito was checking and felt his breath stop for a moment because his briefs were nowhere to be seen. Its as though the brat was wearing nothing underneath.

 

“Won't you open the door Asami-sama?”

 

The brat asked playfully and Asami smirked and stood up. Any hesitations of answering the door sporting such a glaring hard on flew out the window the minute Takaba nodded at it as though he approved! _Fuck!_ As he placed his hand on the door did the situation sinked in to Asami, the brat had actually _planned_ all this in order to fuck with whoever (maybe the brat knew it would be either of Kirishima or Suoh) was at the door with the food. Schooling his face into an irritated glare, he opened the door and trudged back to his seat widening his eyes slightly when he saw Akihito look up at Asami with innocent eyes from where he was sitting in a kneeling position on the floor. They both exchanged discreet looks of amusement when they heard Kirishima choke and fail to cover his sputter by coughing.

 

Asami sat down imperiously just near Akihito and watch Kirishima flounder momentarily as he saw the brat sitting at Asami-sam's feet in nothing but his boss's shirt slump against his so called boss's leg and place his head on Asami-sama's knee and let out a pitiful whine. Kirishima's eyes widened further when Asami-sama simply lifted a hand and let his finger play with his slave's(?) hair when a small sound came out from the probably starving brat. Muttering a hasty 'have a good day Asami sama' and stealing a last glance at the boy Kirishima fled as gracefully as he could even taking in the fact that he let the door close after him with a louder than usual sound.

 

Just as the door closed Akihito fell down on the carpeted floor and let out peals of joyful laughter, his whole body quivering from it and Asami smirked as widely as possible with his eyes gleaming like jewels with humor. The brat is as playful as a cat too apparently. He ignored his throat drying up and quietly took in the scene of a panting Akihito who was splayed on the floor in Asami's shirt, while both hands covered most of the still recovering youth's face, the position of the hands brought out his sides and those thighs , Asami was very much tempted to mark them.

 

_All in good time_ , Asami consoled himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Thats me done. For now. I skipped putting in details like design of the rooms or colour of the walls and other stuff because if its not important to the scenario, it would simply be a waste to mention such things.There was a small part with Kirishima's pov. I only used line break for the timeskips. Annddd what else?
> 
> Ah yeah! please don't forget to let me know if anything was ooc in the povs because I am always doubting myself. Since I am taking my time to genuinely immerse myself into a mood and then write out the chapter, updates will be slow. I don't want to half ass this story and hence would like to not force myself to write just to update sooner. 
> 
> I wanted chapters to be long...but even without that length, already so much is happening and to make this much happen, I had to sit in front of my laptop whenever I felt like writing and write this bit by bit.
> 
> See you next chapter!


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